Gazprom boasts ‘record-high’ gas inflow on Kara Sea shelf

Russian oil major Gazprom has reported ‘record high’ results following a test of the upper levels of an exploration well at the Leningradskoye field.

The well in question was responsible for the substantial gas find in the Kara Sea in October. At the time, the commercial gas inflow was obtained with a flow rate of about 600,000 cubic meters per day.

Gazprom said on Wednesday that the initial discovery was made in the lower levels of the well. The tests in the upper levels of the exploration well enabled the company to achieve the commercial gas inflow of over 1 million cubic meters per day.

According to Gazprom, this is a record-high figure for the fields located on the Arctic shelf of Russia which proves that the productivity of the Leningradskoye field is much higher than anticipated.

“To secure the reliability of gas supplies to consumers in the long term, Gazprom consistently expands its resource base. One of the key targets in this area is to exercise a comprehensive approach to the research and development of the Arctic shelf. This approach ensures high effectiveness of geological exploration performed in the harsh natural environment and climate of the shelf”, the company said.

As for the Leningradskoye gas and condensate field, it is located in the Kara Sea within the Leningradsky licensed block. The field’s current recoverable gas reserves are estimated to total 1.9 trillion cubic meters and are classified as unique.

The discovery made in October was the fourth major discovery made on the shelf of the Yamal Peninsula in the Kara Sea over the last two years.

The three other discoveries were the Dinkov and Nyarmeyskoye fields in 2019 while the 75 Years of Victory field was discovered in 2020.

The Dinkov field is situated within the Rusanovsky licensed block. The field is unique in terms of gas reserves – its recoverable reserves amount to 390.7 billion cubic meters. The Nyarmeyskoye field is located within the Nyarmeysky licensed block. In terms of gas reserves, it holds 120.8 billion cubic meters.

The 75 Years of Victory field is situated within the Skuratovskaya prospect. The field holds 202.4 billion cubic meters of gas.

To remind, the company also has a subsurface use license for the Rusanovskoye field on the Yamal shelf. In total, Yamal produced 96.3 billion cubic meters of gas in 2019.