The system provides detailed information on the operation of the storage facility, located in an undeveloped stratum containing an oil-rim, round the clock.
The complex operates using energy sourced from the Arctic sun.
Andrey Komarov, Director for Gas & Power Engineering of Gazprom Neft, said:
- An integrated control system will improve viability in developing gas reserves, as well as further improving the safety of production processes
- The seismo-geological and environmental monitoring package at the Messoyakha UGS facility will help in working out technological solutions, including recycling CO2 by reinjecting it into the reservoir
The complex’s extensive and multi-branched sensor network consists of 1,600 highly sensitive recorders, covering an area of 16 sq.km.
The new system enables specialists to monitor the gas distribution process within the natural gas reservoir, in detail.
This helps control reservoir pressure, preserves the integrity of the oil rim for the subsequent development of the West Messoyakhskoye field, helps refine the geological model of the area as a whole, and ensures safety in injecting APG into the gas cap.
Commissioning and monitoring of the Messoyakhaneftegaz APG underground storage project has been implemented by the Gazprom Neft Science and Technology Centre, whose specialists developed the digital solutions for modelling APG injection and storage processes.
This underground APG storage facility, commissioned in 2020, is a key facility in the APG utilisation process at the Messoyakha group of fields.
More than 1.2 billion m3 of gas resulting from oil production at the Messoyakha group of fields have been injected into this natural reservoir over the past year.
Messoyakhaneftegaz is the 1st oil production company in Russia to receive a license to build and operate an UGS facility of this kind.
Alexei Kan, Director General of Messoyakhaneftegaz, noted:
- The APG utilisation programme at the Messoyakha group of fields includes not just operating a multi-level APG treatment, transportation and injection complex covering 2 license blocks, but also oversight and control involving modern geo-seismic monitoring systems
- That sort of integrated and environmentally friendly approach to developing hard-to-recover reserves will minimise manmade environmental impacts in oil production, and further increase rational natural gas usage in the Arctic
