(CEO)
Gazprom Neft Shelf- Russian oil company, created for the development of offshore oil and gas fields. Holds a license to develop the Prirazlomnoye oil field, discovered in 1989 offshore the Pechora Sea. Prirazlomnoye is currently the only field on the Russian Arctic shelf where oil production has already begun. Gazprom Neft Shelf is a subsidiary of PJSC Gazprom Neft.
Activity
At the moment, Gazprom Neft Shelf is the only oil company producing oil on the Russian Arctic shelf (the Prirazlomnoye field).
The shipment of the first tanker with oil from the Prirazlomnoye field took place in April 2014. The command for shipment was given by the President of Russia Vladimir Putin. A new grade of Arctic oil produced on the Russian shelf was named ARCO (Arctic Oil) and entered the world market for the first time. In total, 300 thousand tons of oil were shipped from the Prirazlomnaya platform in 2014. At its peak, the maximum production level can reach 5 million tons of oil per year.
In total, the project provides for the commissioning of 32 wells. The first production well at the field was launched on December 19, 2013. The mouths of all wells are located inside the platform - thus, its base is also a buffer between the well and the open sea. In addition, special equipment installed on the wells is designed to prevent the possibility of an uncontrolled release of oil or gas - if necessary, the well will be sealed within 10 seconds.
OIRFP "Prirazlomnaya"
The special hydrometeorological conditions of the Arctic required the use of fundamentally new, unique technologies for the development of the Prirazlomnoye field.
To implement the project, the Prirazlomnaya offshore ice-resistant fixed platform (OIRFP) was created, which ensures the performance of all technological operations: well drilling, production, storage, offloading oil to tankers, generation of thermal and electrical energy. When designing it, the experience of leading American, Canadian and Norwegian oil and gas companies, which have been producing in similar natural and climatic conditions for several decades, was taken into account. The platform is designed to ensure maximum safety of oil production in the Arctic region and is designed for maximum ice loads.
The plan considers various risk scenarios, calculates the forces and means for the formation of emergency units. Professional formations have also been organized to localize and eliminate possible spills, and interaction with state authorities has been organized. professional bodies. The company has purchased special equipment that will help to eliminate possible oil spills in arctic conditions and will be able to collect oil in ice conditions.
Training sessions and complex exercises are constantly held in the platform location area, designed to ensure maximum coherence of the project team's actions in case of any emergency situations. Trainings are carried out both at sea in ice conditions and on land - to protect the coastline in the area of the village. Varandey. Since the beginning of 2014, the company has conducted more than 100 OSR training sessions, the largest of which was the Arktika-2014 search and rescue and oil spill response exercise.
Story
Since May 2014, Gazprom Neft Shelf has been subsidiary company PJSC Gazprom Neft.
On June 1, 2009, Sevmorneftegaz LLC, 100% of whose shares are owned by Gazprom, was renamed into Gazprom Neft Shelf LLC. In October of the same year, Rosnedra re-registered licenses for the Prirazlomnoye field from Sevmorneftegaz LLC to Gazprom Neft Shelf LLC.
December 29, 2004 Gazprom became the sole owner of companies associated with the development
We are on a drilling platform, a complex technical facility designed for offshore oil production. Coastal deposits often continue on the part of the mainland located under water, which is called the shelf. Its borders are the coast and the so-called edge - a clearly defined ledge, beyond which the depth rapidly increases. Usually the depth of the sea above the crest is 100-200 meters, but sometimes it reaches up to 500 meters, and even up to one and a half kilometers, for example, in the southern part of the Sea of \u200b\u200bOkhotsk or off the coast of New Zealand.
Different technologies are used depending on the depth. In shallow water, fortified "islands" are usually built, from which drilling is carried out. This is how oil has long been extracted from the Caspian fields in the Baku region. The use of this method, especially in cold waters, is often associated with the risk of damage to oil-producing "islands" floating ice. For example, in 1953, a large ice mass that broke away from the shore destroyed about half of the oil wells in the Caspian Sea. Less commonly used technology is when the desired area is edged with dams and water is pumped out of the resulting pit. At a sea depth of up to 30 meters, concrete and metal overpasses were previously built, on which equipment was placed. The flyover was connected to the land or was an artificial island. Subsequently, this technology has lost its relevance.
If the field is located close to land, it makes sense to drill an inclined well from the shore. One of the most interesting modern developments is the remote control of horizontal drilling. Specialists control the passage of the well from the shore. The accuracy of the process is so high that you can get to the desired point from a distance of several kilometers. In February 2008, Exxon Mobil Corporation set a world record for drilling such wells as part of the Sakhalin-1 project. The length of the wellbore here was 11,680 meters. Drilling was carried out first in a vertical and then in a horizontal direction under the seabed at the Chayvo field, 8-11 kilometers from the coast.
The deeper the water, the more sophisticated technologies are applied. At depths up to 40 meters, stationary platforms are built, but if the depth reaches 80 meters, floating drilling rigs equipped with supports are used. Up to 150-200 meters, semi-submersible platforms operate, which are held in place with anchors or a complex dynamic stabilization system. And drilling ships are subject to drilling at much larger sea depths. Most of the "record wells" were conducted in the Gulf of Mexico - more than 15 wells were drilled at a depth exceeding one and a half kilometers. The absolute record for deep water drilling was set in 2004 when Transocean and ChevronTexaco's Discoverer Deel Seas drillship began drilling a well in the Gulf of Mexico (Alaminos Canyon Block 951) at a sea depth of 3,053 meters.
In the northern seas, which are characterized by difficult conditions, stationary platforms are often built, which are held at the bottom due to the huge mass of the base. Hollow "pillars" rise up from the base, in which the extracted oil or equipment can be stored. First, the structure is towed to its destination, flooded, and then, right into the sea, the upper part is built on. The plant on which such structures are built is comparable in area to a small city. Drilling rigs on large modern platforms can be moved to drill as many wells as needed. The task of the designers of such platforms is to install the maximum of high-tech equipment in the minimum area, which makes this task similar to the design spaceship. To cope with frost, ice, high waves, drilling equipment can be installed right on the bottom.
The development of these technologies is extremely important for our country, which has the world's largest continental shelf. Most of it is located beyond the Arctic Circle, and so far these harsh spaces are still very, very far from being mastered. According to forecasts, the Arctic shelf may contain up to 25% of the world's oil reserves.
Interesting Facts
- The Norwegian platform "Troll-A", a bright "representative" of the family of large northern platforms, reaches 472 m in height and weighs 656,000 tons.
- The Americans consider 1896 to be the start date of the offshore oil field, and its pioneer is the oilman Williams from California, who drilled wells from the embankment he built.
- In 1949, 42 km from the Absheron Peninsula, on the overpasses built to extract oil from the bottom of the Caspian Sea, a whole village called Oil Rocks was built. Employees of the enterprise lived in it for weeks. The Oil Rocks Overpass can be seen in one of the James Bond films - "The whole world is not enough."
- The need to maintain the subsea equipment of drilling platforms has significantly influenced the development of deep-sea diving equipment.
- To shut down the well quickly in an emergency—for example, if a storm prevents the drillship from staying in place—a kind of plug called a "preventer" is used. The length of such preventers reaches 18 m, and the weight is 150 tons.
- The beginning of the active development of the offshore shelf was facilitated by the global oil crisis that erupted in the 70s of the last century. After the embargo was announced by the OPEC countries, there was an urgent need for alternative sources of oil supplies. Also, the development of the shelf was facilitated by the development of technologies that by that time had reached such a level that would allow drilling at significant sea depths.
- The Groningen gas field, discovered off the coast of Holland in 1959, not only became the starting point in the development of the North Sea shelf, but also gave the name to a new economic term. Economists called the Groningen effect (or Dutch disease) a significant appreciation of the national currency, which occurred as a result of an increase in gas exports and had a negative impact on other export-import industries.
The past 2017 was not an easy year for the Russian oil industry. Production growth has generally stalled due to falling global prices, sanctions and cuts under the OPEC+ deal. However, this trend did not affect offshore projects, where production volumes increased by more than 1.5 times last year. In addition, as a result of geological exploration, the most large reserves on the territory of Russia last year were found exactly on the shelf. Experts attribute this to the emergence of Russian technologies for the implementation of offshore projects and predict further growth in production in the Russian waters.
growth acceleration
Oil production on the Russian shelf in 2017 grew much more than previously planned. Back in September last year, Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation Kirill Molodtsov told reporters that the ministry expects an increase in oil production on the Russian shelf in 2017 compared to 2016 by 16.6%, to 26 million tons, gas - by 3.3% , up to 34 billion m3. However, already in mid-December, the Ministry of Energy corrected its forecasts and announced that oil production on the Russian shelf in 2017 would grow by 61%, to 36 million tons.
The Ministry of Energy notes that the situation was positively affected by the use of new technologies in the field of oil and gas production, including in offshore projects. “Of the total number of technologies, and there are approximately 600 of them, more than 300 are produced in Russia. More than 200 have Russian developments and analogues, that is, they practically have a project development stage,” said Kirill Molodtsov, making a presentation at the Tyumen oil and gas conference in the fall. “There are technologies that we are very excited about, and we will develop them further. These are absolutely autonomous production systems, the completion of offshore fields, drilling, the possibility of creating and developing projects in the Arctic,” the Deputy Minister noted. Kirill Molodtsov also pointed out that the sanctions imposed against Russia in 2014 did not have such a strong negative impact for offshore production, as expected.
“Some of the events that took place around 2014 should have had a negative impact, but I would like to emphasize that all companies that work on the shelf both on projects that have been launched and on projects that are currently being considered have not actually changed their plans ", - explained Kirill Molodtsov. He also added that the companies continue to direct funds for the development of offshore projects. Thus, the total volume of investments last year only in the Arctic shelf is estimated at 150 billion rubles.
New discoveries
It is worth noting that our subsoil users not only developed existing projects, but also carried out geological exploration, as a result of which major discoveries were made. One of the largest discoveries belongs to Rosneft, which discovered large oil reserves as a result of drilling the Tsentralno-Olginskaya-1 well in the Khatanga license area in the Khatanga Bay of the Laptev Sea.
In June last year, the company announced that as a result of geological exploration on the shelf in the Eastern Arctic, it had drilled the Tsentralno-Olginskaya-1 well, from which core sampling showed high oil saturation. According to seismic surveys, this area may contain colossal oil reserves, which are estimated at 9.5 billion tons. Already in October, based on the results of drilling just one of these wells, the State Reserves Commission (GKZ) put an oil field with recoverable reserves of 80 .4 million tons
As stated in the message of Rosneft, as a result of drilling the Tsentralno-Olginskaya-1 exploration well from the coast of the Khara-Tumus peninsula on the shelf of the Khatanga Bay of the Laptev Sea (Eastern Arctic), it was found that the resulting core was saturated with oil with a predominance of light oily fractions. Based on primary studies, it can be concluded that a new oil field has been discovered, the volume of the resource potential of which increases as drilling continues.
The field discovered by Rosneft in the Eastern Arctic may be the largest and unique on the shelf, said the head of the Ministry natural resources and ecology of Russia Sergey Donskoy. Another major offshore discovery belongs to Gazprom Neft, which discovered oil reserves in the Sea of Okhotsk, 55 km from the coastline of the northeastern part of the shelf of Sakhalin Island.
The Ayashskoye field, later renamed Neptun, is part of the Sakhalin-3 project. Gazprom Neft expects that out of geological oil reserves of 250 million tons, the volume of recoverable reserves will be 70-80 million tons. As stated in the Gazprom Neft corporate magazine, the company plans to prepare a detailed reserve assessment by mid-2018. Based on these data, a decision will be made on the additional exploration of Neptune in 2019. The company plans to start oil production at the field in 2025-2026.
Sakhalin break
Sakhalin break Most of the oil on the Russian shelf is produced in the Sakhalin area. Last year, according to the regional administration, oil production in the region, including gas condensate, amounted to 17.7 million tons, which is 1.9% less than in 2016. Meanwhile, gas production increased by 3.2% to 30.5 bcm.
Almost the entire volume of hydrocarbons in Sakhalin is produced within the framework of two offshore projects - Sakhalin-1 (Rosneft owns 20%) and Sakhalin-2 (a controlling stake in Gazprom),
There have been disagreements between the shareholders of these two projects for many years over the use of gas from the Sakhalin-1 fields. The operator of this project in Russia, Exxon Neftegas, has been trying for several years to negotiate with Gazprom on the supply of gas produced under the project to the markets of the Asia-Pacific region. However, Gazprom has always insisted on the supply of raw materials to the domestic market, which did not suit the shareholders of the Sakhalin-1 project due to the low price of domestic market. As a result, gas from the project was pumped back into the reservoirs, and Exxon Neftegas during this time, according to experts, received a loss of profit in the amount of $5 billion.
In turn, the expansion of the LNG plant under the Sakhalin-2 project through the construction of the third stage was postponed year after year due to the lack of a resource base.
At the end of last year, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said in an interview with the Kommersant newspaper that the differences had been resolved. The parties agreed that gas from the Sakhalin-1 project will be supplied to the third stage of the Sakhalin-2 LNG project, while Gazprom will supply gas to the Eastern Petrochemical Company (VNKhK) of Rosneft. In early February of this year, the Glavgosexpertiza of Russia announced the issuance of a positive opinion on project documentation for the reconstruction of the LNG plant as part of the Sakhalin-2 project. Reconstruction is necessary for the construction of the third production line factory. A positive conclusion was issued for the construction of a second berthing facility for LNG shipment with a capacity of 10,000 m3/hour.
The expansion of the technological part is necessary to optimize gas loading. Work will also be carried out on the construction of a coastal fortification, an approach overpass, an LNG offloading platform and other infrastructure facilities.
It remains to be hoped that the price issue, which for many years has been a stumbling block in disagreements between the shareholders of the two largest offshore projects, this time will be resolved quickly and this matter will finally be put to rest.
Good luck for LUKOIL
The right to develop the Russian shelf in 2008 is enshrined in law for state companies with five years of experience in offshore fields. Only Gazprom, Rosneft and Gazprom Neft meet this criterion.
LUKOIL is the only private company, which operates on the Russian shelf. The fact is that the company received the right to develop offshore fields in the Caspian even before the tightening of legislation on the conditions of work on the shelf. In 2000, the company discovered a large oil and gas province on the shelf of the Caspian Sea. Now 6 large deposits and 10 promising structures have been discovered there.
At this stage, two fields have been put into operation - them. Yu. Korchagin and them. V. Filanovsky. The latter is one of the largest offshore oil fields Russia with recoverable oil reserves of 129 million tons and gas of 30 billion m3.
Industrial production at the field. Filanovsky began in October 2016 as a result of the commissioning of the first stage of development, including, among other things, an ice-resistant fixed platform (LSP). In January 2018, the company announced that it had completed the construction and put into operation the first well as part of the second stage of the development of the field named after. Filanovsky. As a result of the well commissioning, daily oil production at the field increased to 16.8 thousand tons.
President of LUKOIL Vagit Alekperov told reporters that at the field. Filanovsky, it is planned to produce 5.6-5.8 million tons of oil this year, and already in 2019 the company intends to reach the design oil production of 6 million tons and keep it for 5 years. He also said that this year the company plans to complete the construction of a conductor block for the second stage of the Yu. Korchagin and complete the construction of the third stage of the field named after. Filanovsky.
In addition, Vagit Alekperov said that a tender has already been announced for the development of the Rakushechnoye field, which will be the company's next project in the North Caspian. This field is located in close proximity to the field named after. Filanovsky. Thanks to this, the company plans to use the already built infrastructure, which will reduce the time and cost of field development.
The head of LUKOIL is one of the consistent supporters of allowing private companies to develop offshore projects, including those on the Russian continental shelf. In early February, during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Vagit Alekperov called the Caspian project a priority and strategically important for the company. He also reminded the Russian president that LUKOIL is developing the East Taimyr subsoil area located near the mouth of the Khatanga, and once again noted the company's interest in offshore projects.
The only one on the Arctic shelf
Prirazlomnoye is the first and so far the only operating mining project on the Russian Arctic shelf. ARCO oil production, operated by Gazprom Neft from the Prirazlomnaya platform of the same name, grew at an accelerated pace during 2017 and reached 2.6 million tons. Gazprom Neft managed to maintain growth rates despite the technical re-equipment of the Prirazlomnoye field the company held last fall.
According to the press service of Gazprom Neft, in 2017 a landmark event for the project was the increase in the well stock by 1 injection and 4 production wells. Currently, 13 wells have been put into operation at the Prirazlomnoye field: 8 production, 4 injection and 1 absorption wells. In 2018, it is planned to drill several more production and injection wells.
In total, it is planned to build 32 wells within the framework of the Prirazlomnoye project, which will ensure peak annual production of about 5 million tons of oil after 2020. This year, Gazprom Neft expects to produce more than 3 million tons at the field, said Deputy CEO for the development of offshore projects of Gazprom Neft Andrey Patrushev during his speech at the 13th exhibition and conference
RAO/CIS Offshore. “The planned increase in production volumes implies, among other things, the introduction of new well construction technologies. One of key innovations in the Prirazlomnoye project was the commissioning of a multilateral well, the construction technology of which makes it possible to reduce production work and drilling costs. Thus, not only the production, but also the financial efficiency of the project is increased, ”Andrey Patrushev is quoted on the Gazprom Neft Shelf website as saying.
Recall that the industrial development of the field began in December 2013. A new grade of oil - ARCO first entered the world market in April 2014.
In total, more than 10 million barrels of oil have already been shipped to European consumers since the start of field development. Accumulated production at the end of 2017 amounted to about 6 million tons. According to Alexander Dyukov, Chairman of the Management Board of Gazprom Neft, the company plans to produce 4.5 million tons of oil per year at Prirazlomnoye in 2019.
It is worth noting that Gazprom Neft expects to increase oil reserves in this region through geological exploration in the adjacent areas to Prirazlomnoye. As Alexander Novak said earlier, the prospect of production at the Prirazlomnoye field is 6.5 million tons per year.
According to experts, this is quite real challenge. As Gazprom Neft reported on February 20, in 2017, for the first time, an assessment was made of the promising resources of the Arctic shelf in the company's licensed areas. According to DeGolyer and MacNaughton, the volumes of promising resources of the Arctic shelf amounted to: oil - 1.6 billion tons, gas - 3 trillion m3.
Multidirectional vector
About the prospects for the development of offshore projects, especially in the Arctic, experts and officials talk a lot and willingly. Opinions are unanimous only that the shelf is the strategic potential of the country. In all other respects, this topic causes heated discussions among market participants. Among the most discussed issues: should private companies be allowed to participate in the development, should the moratorium on the issuance of new licenses be lifted, what benefits should be provided, how to bypass sanctions, where to get equipment and what technologies to use.
At the same time, many experts agree that now is really not the best period in the world and domestic economy for revitalizing offshore activities. Thus, Russian Minister of Energy Alexander Novak notes that the activity of interest in the shelves, observed before 2014, is now much lower, and connects this with a decrease in world prices for hydrocarbons. Commenting on plans for the development of the Arctic shelf in an interview with RT, the minister recalled that we currently have about 19 discovered fields there. “This suggests that in the future, with the improvement of the market situation, we will certainly consider, as part of our energy development strategy, more active research, drilling, commissioning of fields,” the minister said and once again stressed that the Arctic is the future of our oil and gas production.
According to Academician Alexei Kontorovich, active exploration of the Russian Arctic waters will take place in 2030-2040. As he explained in an interview with Reuters, Russia will be able to maintain current oil production with the available proven reserves until the middle of the 21st century.
Further, new discoveries are needed on the shelf of the Arctic, which has rich hydrocarbon reserves. Thus, according to the expert, the main task remains the development of appropriate technologies by this time.
Orest Kasparov, deputy head of Rosnedra, believes that for the economically viable development of the Arctic shelf, the cost of oil should exceed $80 per barrel. In his opinion, it is precisely because of low oil prices, and not because of sanctions. Russian companies postpone the development of some offshore projects.
The energy potential of economic development largely depends on the offshore future of oil and gas. Hydrocarbon experts insist on this. In our country, the industrial development of the continental shelf is declared promising. However, the achievement of the result requires a coordinated solution of a number of legal, investment, exploration, infrastructure and environmental issues.
The profitability of offshore fields is primarily due to the use of efficient production technologies and. At the same time, the end users of hydrocarbons attach more and more importance to the possibilities of oil and gas treatment as a factor in achieving quality. marketable products. World experience in this area is growing and is now coming to Russia. Hard-to-reach, but such desirable hydrocarbons from the subsurface are already waiting for commercial production.
- World reserves of oil and gas on the continental shelf.
- Distribution of oil production on the continental shelf by regions of the world.
- Distribution of gas production on the continental shelf by regions of the world.
- Hydrocarbon reserves on the Russian continental shelf.
The marine continental shelf is an underwater continuation of the surface of the mainland (with a slight slope - about 1-2 m per 1 km). The width of the shelf varies from 50 to 100 km, the depth of the outer boundary is in the range of 120-150 m, the underwater slope of the mainland ends at the foot. The shelf has the same geological structure as the mainland, which is of fundamental importance for its industrial development.
The development of deposits near the sea began in the middle of the 19th century in the coastal territories of the Caspian Sea (Absheron Peninsula in the Baku region). Here, less than 100 years ago, industrial operation of drilling platforms on piles was opened. Since the 1960s, underwater oil and gas production has been widely used.
The development of deposits on the sea shelf is a science-intensive, technologically complex and at the same time dangerous process when equipment is installed and operated in extreme conditions environment(severe storms, high and low tides, sea salt, hydrogen sulfide, critically low temperatures and the most difficult ice conditions). However, the prospects for offshore production are based on economic feasibility and are supported by studies showing that half of the world's hydrocarbon reserves are contained in the subsoil under the seabed.
Forecasts indicate that more than 60% of the continental shelf area has hydrocarbon reserves. Every year, about 1,000 exploration and approximately 2,000 wells are drilled in the world. production wells different type. In total, more than 100 thousand wells have been drilled. More than 2,000 offshore oil and gas fields have been explored, most of which are gigantic and large in terms of reserves.
The main underwater deposits of oil and gas are concentrated in the Persian Gulf (Saudi Arabia, Qatar). More than half of the world's oil reserves are located here. The largest hydrocarbon deposits are also being developed in the Gulf of Guinea and the Gulf of Mexico, in the waters of Maracaibo (Venezuela), in the seas South-East Asia, Beaufort and in the North Sea (Norway). Hydrocarbon production in the sea is about a third of the world's production.
According to IFP Energies nouvelles (IFPEN) and IHS Energy, the world's oil and gas reserves on the continental shelf in 2010 were estimated at about 650 billion barrels of oil equivalent (or 650 Gboe, diagram 1). At the same time, the share of oil reserves was 275 Gboe, and gas - 375 Gboe. The total oil production in 2010 on the sea shelves of our planet was 23.6 million barrels per day, and gas - 2.4 billion m 3 per day ( diagrams 2 and 3 ).
Russia is on the threshold of industrial development of the continental shelf (in terms of territory, this is more than 6 billion km 2, which is 22% of the shelf area of the World Ocean). This is the world's largest shelf in terms of area, the recoverable hydrocarbon resources of which are estimated at 98.7 billion tons. in terms of conventional fuel. At the same time, about 85% of explored reserves are concentrated on the shelf of the Arctic waters (Barents Sea, Kara Sea). continental shelf Far East contains approximately 12-14% of reserves. On the shelves of the Baltic, Caspian, Black, Azov seas, a number of deposits have also been noted ( diagram 4 ).
Despite the fact that most of the continental shelf is located in the northern and Arctic regions, offshore oil and gas production in Russia has been identified as a priority activity that contributes to the development of the oil and gas industry and the economy as a whole. State plans provide for by 2030 to increase oil production on the shelf by 5 times - from the current 13 million tons. up to 66.2 million tons; it is planned to increase gas production by 4 times - from 57 billion m 3 to 230 billion m 3 . The achievement of these indicators will be facilitated by the government Shelf Development Program until 2030. Economical effect from its implementation is calculated in the amount of 8 trillion rubles.
Success on the shelf is forged on the ground
- Technological platform with equipment for oil and gas treatment.
- Surface dewatering plants natural gas and TEG regeneration.
Oil production on the continental shelf is carried out with the help of special hydraulic structures - drilling platforms. These platforms are divided into three types: jack-up, semi-submersible and gravity drilling platform. Drilling ships, technological platforms and floating complexes for oil production, storage and offloading are also used. The choice of platform type depends on the operating conditions (distance from the coast, sea depth, climate) and field development methods (well drilling pattern, oil production rate).
Despite the difference in the design of the platforms, they are all similar in one thing - they are extremely compact structures with the necessary production equipment"on board". Each field develops its own drilling platform configuration project. At the same time, in conditions of limited space, the placement of drilling, operational, technological and power equipment is carefully optimized.
Professionals of the oil and gas industry consider technological support for the preparation of produced oil and gas as a priority task. Oil and gas treatment is an obligatory stage that precedes the transportation, storage and processing of hydrocarbons. As a rule, preparation consists of a number of operations: separation of oil and gas, separation, drying, removal of sulfur compounds, mercury, carbon dioxide and salts, compression, etc.
For example, in order to achieve high commercial quality (APG) is removed from reservoir oil. Before transportation for processing or use as a fuel, APG is purified from impurities, water and hydrogen sulfide. The gas dew point temperature is calculated for water and hydrocarbons, the calorific value of APG and its component composition are determined.
Technological experience accumulated on land is consistently implemented in the development of offshore fields.
World experience comes to Russia
- Modular gas drying unit COMART.
- Shelf gas purification system from sulfur compounds COMART.
- Modular plant COMART for TEG regeneration.
Success in the commercial production of hydrocarbons largely depends on proven technological equipment created on the basis of original design developments and engineering solutions. World experience in the implementation of such projects is the basis for the creation of oil and gas treatment systems for fields in Russia and the CIS countries.
In the context of the deployment of commercial oil production on the shelves, it is the use of efficient oil and gas treatment technologies that helps to achieve required quality marketable products, reduce costs and increase the economic attractiveness of specific fields. The well-known engineering company COMART, a recognized leader in the development of modern systems oil and gas preparation.
COMART equipment is installed at the fields of leading oil companies, including: ExxonMobil, BP, Shell, Eni, Saudi Aramco, Repsol YPF, Petrobras, NIOC, Maersk Oil, ONGC, etc. 32 oil and gas treatment projects have been successfully implemented on the offshore shelves alone, which allows us to guarantee the solution the most complex technical tasks both in equatorial waters and in the northern seas.
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The construction of the drilling platform consists in the delivery to the site of the proposed production and subsequent flooding of the base of the floating structure. On this kind of “foundation”, the rest of the necessary components are then built on.
Initially, such platforms were made by welding lattice towers, shaped like a truncated pyramid, from metal pipes and profiles, which were then firmly nailed to the sea or ocean floor with piles. Subsequently, the necessary drilling or production equipment was installed on such structures.
When it became necessary to develop deposits located in northern latitudes, ice-resistant platforms were required. This led to the fact that engineers developed projects for the construction of coffered foundations, which in fact are artificial islands. Such a caisson itself is filled with ballast, which, as a rule, is sand. Such a base is pressed to the bottom of the sea under the influence of its own weight, which is affected by gravitational forces.
However, over time, the size of offshore floating structures began to increase, which made it necessary to reconsider the features of their designs. In this regard, the developers of the American company Kerr-McGee created a project of a floating object in the form of a navigation milestone. The structure itself is a cylinder, the lower part of which is filled with ballast.
The bottom of this cylinder is fastened by day with the help of special bottom anchors. Such a technical solution made it possible to build quite reliable platforms of truly gigantic dimensions, which are used for the extraction of oil and gas raw materials at ultra-great depths.
In fairness, it should be said that there are no fundamental differences between the process of extracting hydrocarbon raw materials and their subsequent shipment between offshore and onshore production wells.
For example, the main elements of a fixed offshore platform are the same as those of an onshore fishery.
The main feature of the offshore drilling rig is, first of all, the autonomy of its operation.
To achieve such autonomy, offshore drilling rigs are equipped with very powerful electric generators, as well as seawater desalination plants. Stocks on offshore platforms are replenished with the help of service vessels.
Also, the use of sea transport is necessary for the delivery of the entire structure to the mining site, in the case of rescue and firefighting measures. Transportation of raw materials extracted from the seabed is carried out through bottom pipelines, as well as with the help of a tanker fleet or through floating oil storage facilities.
Modern technologies, if the production site is located near the coast, provide for the drilling of directional wells.
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If necessary, this technological process provides for the use of advanced developments that allow remote control of drilling processes, which ensures high accuracy ongoing work. Such systems provide the operator with the ability to issue commands to drilling equipment even from a distance of several kilometers.
The depths of production on the sea shelf, as a rule, are within two hundred meters, in some cases reaching a value of half a kilometer. The use of a particular drilling technology directly depends on the depth of the productive layer and the remoteness of the production site from the coast.
In areas of shallow water, as a rule, reinforced foundations are erected, which are artificial islands, on which drilling equipment is subsequently mounted. In some cases, in shallow water, technology is used that involves fencing the mining site with a system of dams, which makes it possible to obtain a fenced excavation from which water can then be pumped out.
In cases where there is a hundred or more kilometers from the development site to the coast, it is already impossible to do without the use of a floating oil platform. Stationary platforms are the simplest in their design, but they can only be used at a mining depth of several tens of meters, since in such shallow water it is possible to fix a stationary structure using piles or concrete blocks.
Starting from depths of about 80 meters, the use of floating platforms equipped with supports begins. In areas with great depths (up to 200 meters), fixing the platform is already becoming problematic, therefore, in such cases, semi-submersible drilling rigs are used.
In place, such platforms are held by anchor systems and positioning systems, which are a whole complex of underwater engines and anchors. Drilling at ultra-great depths is carried out with the help of specialized drilling ships.
When arranging offshore wells, both single and cluster methods are used. In recent years, the use of so-called mobile drilling bases has begun to be practiced. The process of offshore drilling itself is carried out with the help of risers, which are large-diameter pipe columns lowered to the very bottom.
After the drilling process is completed, a multi-ton preventer is placed on the bottom, which is an anti-blowout system, as well as wellhead fittings. All this makes it possible to prevent leakage of extracted raw materials from a drilled well into open waters. In addition, it is mandatory to install and start up control and measuring equipment that monitors the current state of the well. The lifting of oil to the surface is carried out using a system of flexible hoses.
As it becomes clear, the complexity and high level of manufacturability of the processes for the development of offshore fields are obvious (even without going into the technical details of such processes). In this regard, the question arises: “Is such a complex and costly oil production worthwhile?” Definitely yes. Here, the main factors that speak in its favor are the ever-growing demand for petroleum products with the gradual depletion of onshore deposits. All this outweighs the cost and complexity of such mining, since raw materials are in demand and pay off the costs of their extraction.
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Currently, Russia and some Asian countries are planning to increase their offshore hydrocarbon production capacity in the near future. And this is due to the purely practical side of the issue, since many Russian fields have a high degree of depletion, and as long as they generate income, it is necessary to develop alternative fields with large reserves of raw materials in order to subsequently switch to offshore production painlessly.
Despite the existing technological problems, high labor costs and large capital investments, oil extracted from the sea and ocean floor is already a competitive commodity and firmly occupies its niche in the global hydrocarbon market.
The largest oil platform in the world is located in the North Sea, the Norwegian platform called "Troll-A". Its height is 472 meters, and the total weight is 656 thousand tons.
In the United States, the start date of American offshore oil production is considered to be 1896, and its founder is a Californian oilman named Williams, who already in those years drilled wells using the embankment he built with his own hands.
In 1949, at a distance of 42 kilometers from the Absheron Peninsula, on metal racks that were erected for oil production from the bottom of the Caspian Sea, a whole village was built, which was called "Oil Rocks". In this village, people serving the work of fishing lived for several weeks. This overpass (Oil Rocks) even appeared in one of the Bond films, which was called "And the whole world is not enough."
With the advent of floating drilling platforms, it became necessary to maintain their underwater equipment. In this regard, deep-sea diving equipment began to actively develop.
For quick sealing of an oil well in case of emergencies (for example, if a storm rages so strong that the drilling ship cannot be kept in place), a preventer is used, which is a kind of plug. The length of such a "cork" can reach up to 18 meters, and such a preventer can weigh up to 150 tons.
The main motive for the development of offshore oil production was the global oil crisis of the 70s of the last century, provoked by the embargo imposed by the OPEC countries on the supply of black gold to Western countries. Such restrictions forced American and European oil companies seek alternative sources of crude oil. In addition, the development of the shelf began to be more active with the advent of new technologies, which already at that time made it possible to carry out offshore drilling at great depths.
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The development of the North Sea shelf began with the discovery of a gas field called Groningen off the Dutch coast (1959). Interestingly, the name of this deposit led to the emergence of a new economic term- the Groningen effect (in other words - "Dutch disease"). The essence of this term from an economic point of view is a significant appreciation of the national currency, which occurred due to a sharp increase in the volume of gas exports, which had an extremely negative impact on other sectors of the economy associated with export-import operations.