Russia’s LNG exporter Novatek said that its Yamal LNG project has produced its billionth cubic meter of gas from the South-Tambeyskoye gas and condensate field’s Jurassic reservoirs since the start of production in 2020.
According to a statement by Novatek issued on Tuesday, the Jurassic program is one of a kind for Russia and covers commercial production of tight gas from Yamal’s Jurassic deposits with extremely low permeability and overpressure.
The firm said that the program opens up opportunities for expanding the resource base of its LNG projects in the Arctic.
Found at depths of 3,400 to 3,800 meteres, Jurassic gas and condensate reservoirs have a high condensate content of about 250 g/m3, Novatek said.
Also, their high heterogeneity, varying lithology, and low permeability necessitate the use of advanced technology for horizontal drilling with horizontal section lengths of up to 1,500 meters coupled with multistage hydraulic fracturing, it said.
With environmental and industrial safety being a special area of focus, Jurassic wells are drilled using the tubing made from chromium-alloyed steel enabling high corrosion resistance, better reliability of the wells, and extended production life, the firm said.
Yamal LNG and Arctic LNG 2
The Yamal LNG plant in Sabetta has three 5.5 mtpa liquefaction trains and one smaller unit with a capacity of about 900,000 tons per year.
Besides Novatek that holds 50.1 percent in Yamal LNG, other shareholders include France’s TotalEnergies and China’s CNPC with a 20 percent stake, each, and the Silk Road Fund that owns a 9.9 percent share.
Last year, TotalEnergies decided to write-down its 19.4 percent stake in Novatek and to withdraw the representatives of the company from Novatek’s board.
The French firm also said it will not provide capital for Novatek’s second Arctic LNG project, and booked a $4.1 billion impairment charge on Arctic LNG 2.
The LNG project located on the Gydan peninsula includes the construction of three LNG trains with a capacity of 6.6 mtpa, each, using gravity-based structure platforms.
Novatek expects to launch the first Arctic LNG 2 GBS in late 2023 despite Western sanctions on Russian firms.
It also recently upgraded its Arctic liquefaction tech which it uses at the fourth Yamal LNG train.