WINTERSHALL
INFORMATION
AO Achimgaz
in facts and
figures
SPECIAL EDITION ON ACHIMGAZ
Yamburg
Overview The joint venture produces natural gas and condensate from the technically complex
Achimov formation of the Urengoy
field in West Siberia – one of the
biggest oil, gas and condensate
reservoirs in the world.
SPEC
IAL
JOIN
T
ACH VENTUR
I MG
AZ E
Braving the
Siberian cold:
Our experts produce
natural gas in
Novy Urengoy
at extremely low
minus temperatures
Kara Sea
Novy Urengoy
Nadym
RUSSIA
360
Over
Urengoy Field
100 km
STAFF are employed at Achimgaz
8,200
16
CLUSTERS
with more than
60 wells have
been drilled
100
KILOMETERS
of above-ground power
lines ensure the energy
supply that allows work
at the Arctic Circle to
proceed smoothly
CONTACT
Over
TONS of con-
densate are
produced by
Achimgaz
daily
CREDITS: Page 1: Justin Jin; Page 2-3: Wintershall; Page: 4: C3 Visual Lab
60
KILOMETERS of field gathering lines
and approx. 40 kilometers of condensate pipeline have already been laid
by Achimgaz
15.6
BILLION CUBIC
METERS of natural gas
have been produced up
to 2015
2
TEMPERATURE
FLUCTUATIONS
OF
Over
-56° C
TO
34° C
are common for
the gas treatment plant
(UKPG-31)
BILLION EUROS
are being invested
by the partners
350
50
MORE THAN
KILOMETES of roads
have been built by the
joint venture
Wintershall Holding GmbH
Corporate Communications
Friedrich-Ebert-Str. 160
34119 Kassel
THE HISTORY OF THE
JOINT VENTURE
Achimgaz
Tel. +49 561/301 3301
[email protected]
www.wintershall.com
3,650
SQUARE
KILOMETERS
is the size of
the Urengoy
field
METERS under the
surface lies the
Achimov formation
2003
Founding of the Achimgaz Joint
Venture. Wintershall and
Urengoy Gazprom (today:
Gazprom Dobycha Urengoy)
agree to develop Block 1A of the
Achimov formation
AO Achimgaz –
Partnership with Vision
A
chimgaz – a GermanRussian success story
just south of the Arctic
Circle. Wintershall and Gazprom have been producing natural gas in this joint project for
more than 10 years. A total of 16
billion cubic meters have been
produced so far. AO Achimgaz
was founded in 2003 as a 50:50
joint venture. And it has ambitious goals: in the next 30 years,
the partners plan to produce up
to 200 billion cubic meters of
natural gas and 40 million tons
of condensate. These 200 billion
cubic meters of natural gas can
cover the entire demand for natural gas in German households
for over two years.
Following the launch of six
pilot wells in 2008, commercial
development and production
from the Achimov horizon, from
which the joint venture gets its
name, began in 2011. Achimgaz
commissioned more than 62
wells by the end of 2015.
The number is set to increase
to 78 wells by the end of 2016.
Some 18 million cubic meters of
natural gas are produced each
day. A total of 113 wells are planned for the coming years,
which will increase the annual
production to more than eight
billion cubic meters of natural
gas.
MILESTONE OF
GERMAN-RUSSIAN
COOPERATION
The Achimgaz project is a
perfect example of successful
German-Russian cooperation
in the energy sector. Both project partners are applying their
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1 For an average consumption of 16,684 kwh of gas per household per year.
2004-2005
Surveying work
carried out
extensive expertise to the very
challenging work at the Arctic
Circle. They are investing together – more than two billion
euros so far – and are sharing
the costs and profits.
The project is distinguished
by the excellent collaboration
among the staff, who come from
various countries all over the
world: at Achimgaz, Russians,
Ukrainians, Germans, Tatars,
Argentineans, Americans and
colleagues from many other
nations are all pulling together.
This means the staff can draw
on a wealth of experience in a
wide range of fields in their daily work. Thanks to a robust shift
system, production continues
even in the most adverse weather conditions, 24 hours a day,
seven days a week, 365 days a
year.
.
2006
Preparatory work begins (construction of roads, pipelines and
processing infrastructure)
2008-2011
Six pilot wells
2011-2013
Launch with another 20
wells and beginning of
commercial production
2015
Achimgaz increases the
production and gas processing
capacity. Since the start of the
production activities, the joint
venture has produced more than
16 billion cubic metres. The processing plants can provide up to
20 cubic meters of gas each day
for further transport. .
2016
The project reaches an important milestone: the joint venture
has produced more than 16
bcm of natural gas since it was
founded.
2019
Expected completion of drilling
activities (113 wells overall)
Proven competence
at the source
WHAT IS CONDENSATE?
Condensate is a high-quality light oil.
ºc
It has to go through fewer refinement
processes than standard crude oil and
produces a high yield from the outset.
Condensate can be used to power
combustion engines without complex
conditioning. Condensate is processed
together with other liquid hydrocarbons into
gasoline, diesel and airplane fuels such as
kerosine. When mixed with oil, the condensate that is produced from the Achimgaz field
is sold on the international market as
“Russian Blend”.
The Achimgaz project poses particular challenges for the staff and technology. The climatic and geological conditions in West Siberia are far from easy:
both below ground, where they drill for gas 4,000 meters underground,
and above ground at the well-head, in a tundra landscape where snow lies
eight months of the year and where temperatures of minus 40 degrees are
not uncommon. Achimgaz is optimally prepared for the conditions in the region thanks to both project partners’ many years of experience in developing
complex hydrocarbon deposits.
bar
THILO WIELAND, THE WINTERSHALL
EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER RESPONSIBLE
FOR E&P ACTIVITIES IN RUSSIA, NORTH
AFRICA AND SOUTH AMERICA :
GEORGINA WIEN
PRODUCTION ENGINEER AT ACHIMGAZ:
“Achimgaz was already producing around 3.4 billion cubic
meters of natural gas from over 40 wells in 2014. In 2015
we raised the production again to 5 billion cubis meters of gas. Now around 18 million cubic meters
of natural gas are prepared for export every
day at Achimgaz. But that’s not all: we intend
to increase gas production to up to 30 million
cubic meters per day by 2019.”
“When we reach full field development we will produce
natural gas from up to 113
wells – an enormous challenge in terms of engineering
safety. But with systematic
plant safety reviews,
comprehensive safety and
protection concepts, the
constant search for ways to
make improvements, and
the best possible quality
management system, we
ensure that our facilities
operate smoothly. After
all, the health and safety
of our staff and protecting the environment are
the top priorities for us.”
INGO NEUBERT
DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF
ACHIMGAZ:
ANDREY LEONIDOVICH KAMENSKY
DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF DRILLING ACTIVITIES:
“We use the so-called “cluster drilling”
technique at Achimgaz in which between two
and six wells are sunk per cluster. Because we
need fewer well sites, we minimize the impact on
the environment, protect the sensitive eco-system, increase the speed of the field’s development and reduce the costs for building
the access roads to the wells.”
“Natural gas condensate is a valuable
hydrocarbon which we extract,
treat and sell in large quantities at
Achimgaz together with natural gas.
The “white oil” is purer because it is low
in sulfur, and is very well suited for
producing high-quality gasoline
and heating fuels. We separate
the short-chain, liquid hydrocarbons from the gas at our plants
in a process lasting several
steps. Achimgaz produced 2.3
million tons of gas condensate
in 2015.”