OAO LUKOIL President Vagit Alekperov and ConocoPhillips Chairman and
CEO Jim Mulva today participated in a special ceremony on the occasion
of the startup of the Yuzhno Khylchuyu (YK) field located in the Nenets
Autonomous District.
One of the biggest fields in the north of the Timan Pechora oil and gas
province, this field is developed by OOO Naryanmarneftegaz, a LUKOIL and
ConocoPhillips joint venture (70% and 30%, respectively).
The field was discovered in 1981. Oil quality there surpasses the
Russian Urals export blend quality: its density is 35.5 API (Urals, 32.0
API), and sulfur content is 0.71% (Urals, 1.3%).
The first stage comprises 32 development wells, an oil treatment unit,
an oil desulfurization unit, a tank farm with the total volume of 40,000
m3, a power supply complex with the rated
capacity of 125 MW, and other units.
Startup of the second stage of the YK field is scheduled for December
2008, at which time an additional 32 wells will be put into operation
and a high-pressure compressor station and sulfur disposal and storage
facilities will be completed.
The design oil production level in the field is expected to reach 7.5
million tons a year (more than 150,000 barrels per day) in 2009.
Oil produced at the field is transported by a 158-kilometer-long oil
pipeline (530 mm in diameter) to the Varandey Oil Export Terminal
located on the Barents Sea coast, with the capacity of 12 million tons
per year, from where it is delivered, also through a floating storage
facility in Kola Bay, by 70,000 ton deadweight tankers, for eventual
sale to European and North American markets.
"Commercial production at YK and the link to the new Varandey transportation
corridor will intensify the development of resources in the
Timan-Pechora Oil and Gas Bearing Province, which will certainly
contribute to increased oil production in Russia. The development of the
YK field is a graphic example of the mutually rewarding cooperation
between LUKOIL and its strategic partner, ConocoPhillips," said
Alekperov.
"The launching of the YK field is a major accomplishment. In less than
three years since forming Naryanmarneftegaz with LUKOIL, we have built
both producing facilities and a transportation infrastructure. We
appreciate our good relationship with LUKOIL and are proud that we work
together so well," said Mulva.
LUKOIL is one of the world’s leading
vertically integrated oil and gas companies.
