Gazprom and BASF discuss cooperation on gas production and Nord Stream 2 project
RELEASE
Release
A working meeting of Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, with Hans-Ulrich Engel, Vice Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Wintershall Dea, and Mario Mehren, Chairman of the Executive Board of Wintershall Dea, took place today at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2019.
The meeting participants reviewed issues related to cooperation between the companies. Particular attention was paid to joint actions for hydrocarbon production in Russia, namely at the Urengoyskoye and Yuzhno-Russkoye fields. It was noted that the Yuzhno-Russkoye field has yielded about 276 billion cubic meters of natural gas, including 0.9 billion cubic meters of hard-to-recover Turonian gas, since the start of production operations. At present, pilot development of the Turonian gas deposit (the only project of this type in Russia) is well underway at the field. Commercial production is scheduled to start in late 2019.
The parties also discussed the status and prospects of gas supplies from Russia to Germany and the progress of the Nord Stream 2 project.
Background
The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2019 is being held at the EXPOFORUM Convention and Exhibition Centre from June 6 to 8. This year's key topic is Creating a Sustainable Development Agenda.
In 2018, Gazprom's gas supplies to Germany hit a record high of 58.5 billion cubic meters, an increase of 5.1 billion cubic meters (9.5 per cent) against the 2017 record of 53.4 billion cubic meters.
BASF SE is a leader in the global chemical industry. The company's portfolio includes oil and gas, chemicals, synthetics, and petroleum derivatives.
Wintershall Dea GmbH is an oil and gas company formed by the merger of Wintershall Holding GmbH (subsidiary of BASF) and DEA Deutsche Erdoel AG (subsidiary of LetterOne). The company partners with Gazprom in gas transmission (Nord Stream gas pipeline) and development of the Yuzhno-Russkoye oil, gas and condensate field and Blocks 1A, 4A and 5A in the Achimov formations of the Urengoyskoye oil, gas and condensate field.
Nord Stream 2 is the construction project for a gas pipeline with the annual capacity of 55 billion cubic meters from Russia to Germany across the Baltic Sea. In 2017, Nord Stream 2 AG signed agreements with ENGIE, OMV, Royal Dutch Shell, Uniper, and Wintershall to provide financing for 50 per cent of the total cost of the project.
Turonian gas reserves, which consist of about 99 per cent methane and have no heavy residues, lie at a depth of around 800–850 meters. Their lithological composition is characterized by heterogeneity and variability, as well as low permeability of reservoirs.