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Gazprom Leads in the Development of the Russian Arctic Shelf

 
Photo: neftegaz.ru

Over the past eight years, Gazprom, Russian majority state-owned energy corporation, has taken a leading position in conducting geological exploration work on the Arctic shelf of the Kara Sea. The main focus has been on 3D seismic exploration and the construction of exploratory and appraisal wells.

The rich subsoil of the Russian Arctic shelf is very important in ensuring energy resources. In the context of the depletion of traditional fields in Western Siberia, it is necessary to search for new gas fields. In 2013, Gazprom received 11 licenses for the use of subsoil plots in the Kara Sea and 5 licenses for plots in the Barents Sea for geological study, exploration, and production of hydrocarbons.

Work on the shelf began in 2013 and included 2D seismic exploration. In 2014, only in the Kara Sea, 5,250 linear kilometers of 2D seismic exploration were completed, which made it possible to clarify the geological structure of the area and move on to 3D seismic exploration. Over nine years, about 40,000 km² of 3D seismic exploration was carried out in the waters of the Kara and Barents Seas.

Since 2014, the main operator of Gazprom's geological exploration work on the Arctic shelf has been Gazprom Nedra LLC. In 2017, active exploratory and appraisal drilling began. From 2017 to 2023, 12 wells were built, which brought significant increases in reserves and opened large fields.

The most significant developments were the unique V.A. Dinkov gas condensate field (2018), the large 75 Years of Victory gas field (2019), and the large Nyarmeyskoye gas field (2018). The total gas reserves of these fields amount to more than 650 billion m³.

Gazprom uses two of its own drilling rigs - the self-elevating Arctic and the semi-submersible Northern Lights. In 2022, Gazprom Nedra successfully built two exploratory wells in one field season, which allowed significant savings.

Over a decade of work on licensed plots in the Kara Sea, the increase in recoverable gas reserves amounted to more than 1,600 billion m³. The total reserves of "dry" gas in categories C1 + C2 increased to 2.8 trillion m³, and the reserves of the industrial category C1 - to 1.8 trillion m³.

These results indicate an adequate level of exploration in the Arctic.

12.07.2024