Schlumberger to Start Ukraine Stimulation Next Week: JKX
Schlumberger is expected next week to begin stimulating about a dozen of some 32 existing wells at the Rudenkovskoye gasfield in Ukraine on behalf of licence holder, UK independent JKX.
JKX head of strategy Philip Vorobyov told a session at the Flame gas conference in Amsterdam May 10 said that Schlumberger had been contracted to stimulate the field, which is a mix of conventional and tight gas reserves and believed to hold 80bn m3 gas in place. He said preparations are already underway. The stimulation by the US oil services giant is intended to provide proof of a concept that the field may be able to produce 1- to 2bn m3/yr over a ten to 20 year period, he added.
The role of private investors in stepping up Ukrainian production was mentioned by state company Naftogaz group chief commercial officer and head of its international business Yuriy Vitrenko, speaking at the same Flame panel, who cited the government’s ambition of increasing current production levels from about 20bn m3/yr – of which 15bn by Naftogaz upstream subsidiaries and 5bn m3/yr by private firms – to 28bn m3/yr in 2020, of which Naftogaz’s share would be increased to 20bn and the private firms to 8bn m3 per yr.
Private investors such as JKX however are seeking lower royalties, plus regulatory and governance improvements, before stepping up investments. Naftogaz needs to divest its few foreign assets, in order to raise funds to reinvest at home upstream.
JKX stimulated a well on Rudenkovskoye in the Poltava area of Ukraine with Schlumberger’s help in 2013. However, the cost of doing an 11 or 13-well stimulation in summer 2017 is expected to be much more cost-effective than the single-well stimulation then, because of major improvements in technology.
Vorobyov said that the productivity of US gas extraction had increased 33 times over in the past decade, because of improvements in US rig technology and drilling.
Mark Smedley