Guntis Moritis
OGJ Production Editor
HOUSTON, Apr. 30 -- Exxon Neftegas Ltd. has awarded Aker Solutions ASA contracts for designing, constructing, and delivering the Arkutun-Dagi gravity-base structure (GBS) for a future phase of the Sakhalin-1 development, off the east coast of Russia's Sakhalin Island.
Aker estimates the contracts have a value of about $600 million over the next 3 years, if the consortium fully sanctions the project.
Arkutun-Dagi oil field is in 33-197 ft of water about 15 miles off Sakhalin Island (see map, OGJ, June 17, 2002, p. 42). Development problems include pack ice 3-5 ft thick during 6-7 months of the year, severe waves, and earthquakes.
Earlier this year, Russian authorities raised environmental concerns about the work and delayed approval of 2009 plans and budgets (OGJ Online, Feb. 20, 2009).
Sakhalin-1 involves the development of three offshore fields: Odoptu (discovered in 1977), Chayvo (discovered in 1979), and Arkutun-Dagi (discovered in 1989).
The initial phase developed the Chayvo field with extended-reach wells from shore. The Odoptu field development will also include extended-reach wells drilled from shore.
Initial production to the domestic market from Chayvo started in October 2005 at 50,000 bo/d and 60 MMcfd.
After completion of an export pipeline in October 2006, peak production from the field reached 250,000 bo/d in 2007 and natural gas supplies to Khabarovsk Krai reached 200 MMcfd in January 2008.
The consortium has estimated that over its life the project has a potential to recover 2.3 billion bbl of oil and 17.1 tcf of gas.
Contact Guntis Moritis at [email protected].
