SN Invest to exploit the volatile Kumzhinskoye field - Russia
Little known SN Invest has emerged as the winner of the auction for the rights to further appraise and develop the Kumzhinskoye gas-condensate discovery in the Timan-Pechora Basin. Submitting a winning bid of US$ 3.3 million, the company has secured a 25-year E&P license for what many regard as a controversial move. To date 25 wells have been drilled on Kumzhinskoye, a 1974 discovery with reserves of over 3 Tcf of gas and around 30 MMb condensate. Producing horizons have been established in the Carboniferous, Permian and Triassic sections. Commitments include the acquisition of 120 sq km of 3D seismic data and drilling of two exploration and two appraisal wells. The accumulation has quite a history such that environmental issues are a significant part of this license award. In November 1980, a gas leakage during the testing of appraisal well Kumzhinskaya 9 resulted in the appearance of four craters on the surface near the well that subsequently blew out and collapsed. During the period 1981-1987, four special wells (25, 26, 27 and 27-bis) were drilled in order to penetrate the damaged well and plug it. The first three wells missed the target and a nuclear explosion was used (well 25) for isolation of the leaking reservoir but without any success. Finally, well 27-bis penetrated well 9 at 1,003m in March 1987 and the leakage was stopped. Located about 60km from the regional capital of Naryan-Mar, environmentalists fear that the gas and condensate in the deposit might have become radioactive. They argue that any further work could trigger another catastrophe resulting in significant pollution.
This article is extracted from International Oil Letter, Vol 23 issue 51, published 24 December 2007.
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