VNIIGAZ’s Academic Council’s meeting held

The Academic Council of the Natural Gas and Gas Technology Research Institute (VNIIGAZ) held yesterday a meeting dedicated to “The late phase development strategy of the unique Cenomanian deposits of the West Siberian fields”.

The meeting was attended by Alexander Ananenkov and Sergey Ushakov, Deputy Chairmen of Gazprom’s Management Committee, Vasili Podyuk, Gazprom’s Management Committee Member and Head of the Company’s Gas, Gas Condensate and Oil Production Department, Rudolf Ter-Sarkisov, VNIIGAZ’s Director General and Academic Council’s Chairman as well as experts from Gazprom’s gas production affiliates, the I.M. Gubkin Russian State Oil and Gas University, Oil and Gas Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and other gas industry research organizations.

In his introductory speech A. Ananenkov pointed out that within the period of up to 2020 gas production from the Cenomanian deposits of the basic West Siberian fields (with local gas extraction experiencing decline) would be playing a prevailing role in Gazprom’s overall gas recovery.

At the same time, the low pressure Cenomanian gas production is becoming complicated due to a number of factors related to the deteriorating well operation conditions arisen because of the growing sand and water admixture and soaring scope of works targeted to overhaul and upgrade wells and gas equipment.

In order to achieve the targeted gas recovery volumes, Gazprom must develop new gas production technologies under the conditions of low reservoir pressures, well operation and repair procedures and reservoir stimulation for enhancing gas recovery.

The above-mentioned problems were highlighted in the reports and speeches presented by VNIIGAZ’s leading experts and participants in the meeting.

Based on the meeting outcomes, the parties adopted decisions emphasizing the need to:

• devise a comprehensive gas industry program on low-pressure gas production, including scientific-methodic, experimental and gas industry studies in the sphere of late phase field operation;
• expand the scope of fundamental and experimental work aimed to examine the peculiarities of gas-liquid flows in porous media and horizontal and vertical pipes, the mechanism of gas occlusion by water and water substitution by gas in porous media, the reservoir fracture conditions and mechanism given the various prospecting and geological environment;
• establish pilot grounds at low-pressure Cenomanian gas production facilities in Western Siberia for testing new efficient gas extraction technologies;
• develop and introduce new technologies and equipment to repair production wells and ensure the unfailing functioning of those.

Information Directorate, OAO Gazprom