Gazprom eyes a huge new field in Yamal

The Kruzenshternskoye field, near two other major Arctic gas fields on the Yamal Peninsula, could hold up to 2 trillion cubic meters of natural gas.

By Atle Staalesen, The Independent Barents Observer January 29, 2020
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A man walks near a drilling rig at a gas processing facility, operated by Gazprom company, at Bovanenkovo gas field on the Arctic Yamal peninsula, Russia May 21, 2019. The nearby Kruzenshternskoye field could hold as much as 2 trillion cubic meters gas. (Maxim Shemetov / Reuters File Photo)

Russian natural gas company Gazprom has revised upwards its estimates for a new natural gas field on the Yamal Peninsula.

The Kruzenshternskoye field holds up to 2 trillion cubic meters of natural gas, the company now says. That’s about 360 million cubic meters more than what Gazprom earlier recorded for the field, which is located on the peninsula’s western coast.

The field makes it into the list of Russia’s biggest fields. It is located in the country’s vastly rich natural gas region, only few kilometers west of the Bovanenkovo field, and not far south of the Kharasavay field, which Gazprom now is in the process of developing.

Kharasavey holds a similar volume, about 2 trillion cubic meters, and is due to start production in year 2023. The Bovanenkovo field holds as much as 4.9 trillion cubic meters and was launched in 2012.

Like Kharasavey, the Kruzenshternskoye field stretches into the Kara Sea.  Gazprom in 2019 drilled a directional exploration well from the coast of the local Sharapov Shar Bay, the company says.

The exploration also revealed up to 11.6 million tons of condensate.

Gazprom has earlier indicated that it could launch production in the field in the mid-2020s. It is likely to be connected by pipeline with the Bovanenkovo.

The company has a total of 32 licenses in the Yamal area and estimates the total resources to 26.5 trillion cubic meters of gas.

Up to 360 billion cubic meters of gas will ultimately be produced in the region per year, Gazprom says. That is more than half of what the company produced in total in 2019.