Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the command via a video call to start loading a tanker with oil from the Novoportovskoye field.
The Novoportovskoye oil, gas and condensate field, the richest in oil reserves in the Yamal Peninsula, is located 700 kilometers away from the existing pipeline infrastructure. That is why it was decided to ship Yamal oil by sea for the first time in the history of Russia’s oil and gas industry.
Thanks to cutting-edge technologies employed in building the production, transportation and, most importantly, loading infrastructure, it took only four years to arrange commercial oil production from the field. It is planned to extract 6.3 million tons of feedstock from the field as early as 2018. The plan for further field development will be outlined before late 2017.
An over 100-kilometer-long oil pipeline transports oil from the Novoportovskoye field to the Ob Bay coast. The bay’s ship channel with a depth of 11 meters is too shallow for ship traffic, which is why the oil loading terminal was placed in the sea, 3.5 kilometers offshore. The annual capacity of the oil transshipment terminal is up to 8.5 million tons. The terminal ensures a year-round loading of tankers with Yamal oil for further shipments via the Northern Sea Route.
The Arctic Gate offshore oil terminal is a unique facility. It is designed to operate under extreme natural and climatic conditions, as temperatures in the region can drop below minus 50 degrees Celsius and ice can grow over two meters thick. The terminal has a two-tier protection system and complies with the most stringent requirements for industrial safety and environmental protection.
The terminal’s equipment is fully automated and safely protected from hydraulic shocks. A special system allows for prompt undocking without depressurizing the units undergoing disconnection. The zero discharge technology prevents foreign substances from getting into the Ob Bay, which is of paramount importance to the preservation of the Arctic environment. Moreover, the subsea pipeline that connects the terminal to the coastal tank battery is protected with an additional concrete shell.
“Gazprom is systematically exploring the Russian Arctic. We are successfully extracting oil from the Prirazlomnoye field, Russia’s only hydrocarbon production project on the Arctic shelf. A one-of-a-kind gas production center in the Yamal Peninsula is in full swing. Today, we are creating a new oil province on top of the gas center. We have opened the Arctic Gate to deliver Yamal oil to European consumers via the Northern Sea Route all year round,” said Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee.
Background
The Novoportovskoye oil, gas and condensate field is located in the southeastern part of the Yamal Peninsula, 250 kilometers north of Nadym and 30 kilometers away from the Ob Bay coast. It holds over 250 million tons of liquid hydrocarbons in recoverable C1+C2 reserves. Gazprom Neft is the field operator.
Novy Port is a medium-gravity oil with a lower sulfur content (about 0.1) than Urals.
In 2011, marine oil shipments proved to be possible thanks to the test escorting of a nuclear icebreaker from the port of Sabetta (northeastern Yamal Peninsula) to Mys Kamenny. In the summer of 2014, for the first time in the Russian history, a tanker transported oil from Yamal by sea.
As of today, investments in the Novoportovskoye field total RUB 180 billion, with overall tax revenues expected to exceed RUB 1.5 trillion.
Field development is ongoing in parallel with a program for boosting the population of commercial northern fish. In 2015, about 4 million fingerlings of muksun and other fish species were released into the Ob River and the Ob-Irtysh river system. It is planned to release 24 million more muksun fingerlings in 2016–2018.
