Khar'yaginskoye field. Oil field in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

The Kharyaginskoye oil field is located in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug near the village and the Kharyaga River of the same name in the south of the Bolshezemelskaya tundra. This territory, 60 kilometers from the Arctic Circle, belongs to the Timan-Pechora resource province. Geological exploration in Kharyaga began in 1977. Oil reserves in the field were estimated at 160 million tons. The word Kharyaga is Nenets. This toponym translates as “winding river.”

Features of the deposit

In addition to Kharyaginskoye itself, the East Kharyaginskoye, North Kharyaginskoye, and Sredne-Kharyaginskoye fields are also being developed. They were discovered in the Soviet Union. For example, the development facilities of the Sredne-Khar'yaginskoye field have been used by specialists for 30 years.

Heavily swampy territory and a dense network of rivers demanded extraordinary technological solutions from the oilmen in the development of the production zone. The Kharyaginskoye field is multi-layer, it consists of 27 deposits. Drilling wells and transporting resources is complicated by the fact that the local oil contains a high concentration of paraffin, which causes it to freeze whentemperature is only +29°С. Moreover, Soviet geologists discovered life-threatening hydrogen sulfide in the associated gas of the field. For this reason, the personnel of the enterprise strictly observes security measures, numerous even by the standard standards of the oil industry.

Climatic and natural conditions

Located in the far north, the Nenets Autonomous Okrug has an average annual temperature of about -5°C. Permafrost in this region reaches a depth of 350 meters. Because of this, the Kharyaginskoye field has been preparing for the start of commercial development for more than usual - nine years. Mining started in 1986. It was and is based on the technological scheme for the development of Devonian deposits.

Local lakes are small in size. They are found at the headwaters of small streams and rivers. The depth of the lakes is 10 - 15 meters. Located in the tundra zone, the Kharyaginskoye field is characterized by cool rainy and short summers. Its long winter is typical of the temperate continental climate on the border of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug and the Komi Republic.

Oil and oil pipeline

Reservoir oil of the Kharyaginskoye field has a density of about 0.7 g/cm3. It is produced at several operational sites. The characteristics of the oil on each of them may differ. For example, the gas content of production facility VI is significantly lower than that of production facility I. By densityand molar mass oil of the Kharyaginskoye field refers to the usual. The current production level is 1.5 million tons per year.

The Kharyaginskoye oil field, whose geological section represents a traditional picture for its region, is being developed in stages. "Black gold" is completely exported. It is transported through state main oil pipelines. The length of the route is 2,600 kilometers. The end point of the journey is the B altic port of Primorsk near St. Petersburg.

Infrastructure Development

The first phase of production at the field was called the “advance production phase”. Oil was pumped out from the central part of Kharyaga, in which the initial three wells were equipped. The second phase began in 2000. It implied an increase in production volumes and the start of water injection. The indicators were limited by the capacity of the main pipeline and the insufficient number of wells. They reached the figure of 20 thousand barrels of oil per day.

In 2007, the next, third phase of development began. Its goal was to develop additional reserves, as well as increase production to 30,000 barrels per day. A gas preparation and extraction unit was created, which led to the cessation of burning excess raw materials. Drilling of new wells has begun (21 in total). 12 of them are production, 9 more are intended for injection. The construction of additional bushes (East and North) has started.

Owners

The field is being developed under the PSA, a production sharing agreement in which several companies establish a joint venture. The document was signed in Moscow on December 20, 1995. Then the parties to the agreement were the French joint-stock company Total Exploration Development Russia and the Russian Federation, whose interests were represented by the federal government and the administration of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug.

In the 1990s. The PSA was a new and unusual legal form for the domestic economy. The agreement assumed that the state would reimburse the costs of foreign investors for the creation and development of the infrastructure of the field. At the same time, the authorities receive income, which has taken the form of roy alties - a tax on the use of minerals.

The 20-year agreement entered into force in 1999. Since then, new domestic and foreign investors have entered the Kharyaga PSA. They were Norsk-Hydro (Norway), which soon changed its name to Statoil, as well as NNK - Nenets Oil Company. In 2010, Zarubezhneft joined the project. She bought 10% of shares from Statoil and Total each.

New operator

The Kharyaginskoye field has several official subsoil users. The last changes in asset configuration took place at the beginning of 2016. The French company Total sold a 20% stake in Zarubezhneft. The buyer became the main operator of the field. The deal amounted to about $100 million.

The initiator of the sale was Total,included in the project in 1995. The transaction took place against the backdrop of the desire of the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation to increase the profitability of the field through greater involvement of Zarubezhneft in its management. The French company decided to change the object of investment due to the fact that Yamal seems to be a much more promising region for it than the Kharyaginskoye field. Total made the deal, as the buyer of its stake, Zarubezhneft, is well aware of how the industry, which was built by the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, works.

Latest events

Specially in order to become an operator, the Russian company created a subsidiary. It became Zarubezhneft-dobycha Kharyaga LLC. The company was registered on September 28, 2015. On the eve of the deal, the structure of the still operating French operator Total was carefully studied by the consulting firm Boston Consulting Group. The data she provided to Zarubezhneft prompted the company to expand its staff. Many employees of Total have switched to work with the new operator.

The distance between Usinsk and the Kharyaginskoye field is 164 kilometers. This route is very important for oil workers, as the road to the regional center in the Komi Republic is the most convenient way to get to civilization by land. Having become an operator, Zarubezhneft began to optimize the company, which helped it save significant funds (250 million rubles) and use them to comply with social obligations to its employees. Generallythe company managed not only to successfully adopt the technological process established by the French, but also to qualitatively improve the performance of Total.

Prospects

In the summer of 2016, the new operator adopted a capital construction program covering the period from 2017 to 2019. According to it, Zarubezhneft is going to equip new wells and put into operation all the unfinished oil and gas wells. The company decided to abandon the outdated diesel generator sets that provided the field with electricity (they will be replaced by modern grid electricity). Among other things, this will reduce unnecessary costs for the operator and make production more efficient.

Building gas compression facilities will help granulate sulfur and utilize most of the gas. In 2018, a new camp for shift workers will be prepared with three residential buildings connected by warm passages. Comfortable housing for oil workers will meet all modern standards.