The start of this process marks another significant milestone for Wintershall Dea and Gazprom in the development of the Achimov deposits.
Achim Development is the joint venture of Wintershall Dea (25.01 %) and Gazprom (74.99 %).
In 2018, the company set out to tackle the ambitious task of simultaneous preparation of Areas 4A and 5A for production start-up in order to develop the hard-to-recover gas and gas condensate reserves of the Achimov formations in the Urengoyskoye field.
Besides the harsh climatic conditions and the sensitive environment of the Siberian tundra, the complex geology of the Achimov formations, which lie at depths of up to 4,000 m, and the abnormally high formation pressure posed additional challenges for the drilling operations.
The hot commissioning of the start-up complex of Achim Development was successfully launched in January 2021.
During the 1st phase of building the necessary infrastructure and facilities, Achim Development received support from Achimgaz, a 50:50 joint venture between Wintershall Dea and Gazprom Dobycha Urengoy that has been operating Area 1A of the Urengoyskoye field since 2008.
While this process is still ongoing, Achim Development has also started full field development of Area 4A/5A.
Thilo Wieland, Member of the Board of Wintershall Dea responsible for Russia, said:
- Russia is a very important core region for our company, and our projects in Russia are a central pillar in achieving our company’s strategic goals
- The start of hot commissioning of both Area 4A and Area 5A is an impressive achievement and another great success in our long-standing partnership with Gazprom
- I am delighted that together with our other joint ventures in Western Siberia – Severneftegazprom and Achimgaz – Achim Development will significantly contribute to our production for many years to come
This will constitute a substantial increase in Wintershall Dea’s production in Russia.
The total planned production capacity in Area 4A/5A is 14 billion m3 of dry gas annually.
