Wintershall and Gazprom joint venture Achimgaz passed the impressive production level of 20 billion cubic meters of natural gas

Wintershall and Gazprom joint venture Achimgaz passed the impressive production level of 20 billion cubic meters of natural gas

A further milestone has been achieved!

Novy Urengoy, Russia, 04-Oct-2016 — /EuropaWire/ — A further milestone has been achieved! Achimgaz, a joint venture from Wintershall and Gazprom, has recently passed the impressive production level of 20 billion cubic meters of natural gas. Natural gas and condensate have been produced from Block 1A of the Achimov Formation in the Novy Urengoy field since 2011. During the next few years it is planned to increase the production to an annual level of around 8 billion cubic meters of natural gas.

A special event is also about to take place with the drilling: following the success with the previous vertical drilling, the first two horizontal wells will now be drilled in Block 1A. These will not only increase the production but are also more environmentally friendly, since relatively less drilling is required.

The Achimgaz project is a perfect example of successful German-Russian cooperation in the energy sector. Sophisticated technologies are used south of the Arctic Circle that can withstand temperature fluctuations from -56 to +34 °С.

“The project combines the expertise and experience of the two partners in an ideal way. It also provides an excellent example of the successful collaboration between people from more than ten nations, who with investments totalling more than 2 billion euros have built up a profitable company and, in addition, enriched the region with their ideas and experience,” says Thilo Wieland, Wintershall’s Executive Board Member responsible for Russia.

The experience from the horizontal drilling will also be important for developing blocks IV and V in the Achimov Formation. As part of the asset swap last year with Gazprom, Wintershall acquired 25 percent plus one shareholding in the reservoir. “Access to 274 billion cubic meters of gas and 74 million tons of gas condensate is strengthening Wintershall’s engagement in Russia. Our experience from the Achimgaz project proves that the joint collaboration on the ground at the well is successful,” says Wintershall Chairman, Mario Mehren, adding: “Even with conditions that are not always economically favourable and in politically tense times, ensuring a responsible and secure energy supply for Europe must have top priority. Our Achimgaz joint venture is making a decisive contribution to this.”

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SOURCE: Wintershall Holding GmbH