Gazprom brings Arctic Projects Onstream
The ceremonial inauguration of new production capacities and the Bovanenkovo – Ukhta 2 gas trunkline has been held at the Bovanenkovskoye field.
The event was attended by Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and heads of Gazprom's specialized structural units, subsidiaries and contracting organizations.
The ceremony featured an address by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who spoke via a conference call.
A major gas production center, which is strategic to Russia's gas industry, was established and is currently developed by Gazprom in the Yamal Peninsula. Faced with a challenging Artic environment, the Company set up a brand new and powerful industrial complex with a transport infrastructure and a full-fledged utility system. Yamal's largest field, Bovanenkovskoye, has two efficient production facilities with an aggregate design capacity of 90 billion cubic meters of gas per year. In addition, the Company has built a railroad, which includes the world's longest bridge beyond the Arctic Circle, and the first airport in Russia's modern history.
Step by step, Gazprom expands its production capacities at Bovanenkovskoye. The operating well stock added 88 wells today, bringing their total number to 391. Two booster compressor stations with a total capacity of 160 MW were brought online as well. The stations play a crucial role in the gas treatment process. With these facilities in operation, the field reached a new level of productivity, increasing its peak daily output from 218 million cubic meters to 264 million cubic meters of gas.
In parallel with boosting production capacities in Yamal, Gazprom actively expands the northern gas transmission corridor within Russia's Unified Gas Supply System, building new, highly efficient gas trunklines. The Bovanenkovo – Ukhta and Ukhta – Torzhok pipelines are already onstream.
The Bovanenkovo – Ukhta 2 gas pipeline also entered operation today. It comprises a 1,260-kilometer linear part and new shops (total capacity of 192 MW) at the Baidaratskaya and Intinskaya compressor stations. The pipeline's has a design capacity of 57.5 billion cubic meters of gas per year. The combined design throughput of Bovanenkovo – Ukhta and Bovanenkovo – Ukhta 2 is 115 billion cubic meters per year.
In the course of constructing new gas production and transmission facilities, Gazprom employed innovative technologies and state-of-the-art, highly reliable equipment, which had been manufactured in Russia. Gas well clusters are fully automated and provided with independent thermal stabilization systems for permafrost soils.
The Bovanenkovo – Ukhta 2 gas pipeline, similar to Bovanenkovo – Ukhta, was designed for the working pressure of 120 atm – the highest pressure for onshore gas pipelines. This was made possible thanks to the use of special high-strength pipes produced for Gazprom by Russian manufacturers.
In the medium term, it is planned to complete the construction of a third production facility at the Bovanenkovskoye field, as well as the Ukhta – Torzhok 2 gas pipeline and compressor capacities of Bovanenkovo – Ukhta 2. As a result, the field will reach its design capacity of 115 billion cubic meters per year, thus becoming one of Russia's most productive fields.
