Gazprom to Begin Production from Sakhalin-3 This Year

Gazprom will begin gas output from the Sakhalin-3 field in Russia later this year, the company has announced. The output will come from the Kirinskoye field.

The commencing of output will herald the first time Russia has ever used a subsea system for production. Two production wells are scheduled to begin construction before the second half of this year with two wells ready to produce gas by the end of the second half of this year, the company said.

Gazprom expects these drills, as well as six more due to be drilled by the end of 2014, to supply up to 4.2 billion cubic metres of gas a year from 2015.

As part of the project, two facilities have been constructed to handle the gas produced. An onshore production facility, currently under construction, will initially receive gas from the Kirinskoye field and will also handle the gas from other Sakhalin-3 fields as those come online.

Construction has been completed on a second facility, a gas disposition terminal, which Gazprom says will handle pressure reduction and gas metering facilities from the Sakhalin-1 project. From next month, this terminal will Sakhalin-Khabarovsk-Vladivostok gas transport system.

Deputy Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, Vitaly Markelov, said that the project would help Gazprom diversify its supply into other areas.

"Gazprom is facing the strategic task of delivering gas to Eastern Siberia and the Far East," he said. "Natural gas will develop gasification, boost industrial production and improve environment. We are going to continue our comprehensive efforts in this area."

The announcement from Gazprom also included the upward revision of reserves from the Kirinskoye field, from a previous estimate 74.4 billion cubic metres to 137 billion cubic metres.