The Urengoyskoye field is among the largest gas fields in the world, stretching over 12,000 km2. The field was discovered in 1966.
With its initial C1+C2 gas reserves totaling 10.9 trillion cubic meters, the field ranked as the world’s largest at the time.
Within a short timeframe, the Urengoy oil, gas and condensate complex was created in the harsh natural and climatic conditions of the Extreme North. Gas production started on April 22, 1978.
At present, the Urengoyskoye field prospects hinge on the development of hard-to-reach Achimov deposits. The C1 reserves of the Achimov deposits in Gazprom Dobycha Urengoy’s fields amount to over 1 trillion cubic meters of gas and 400 million tons of condensate.
In 2003, Gazprom Dobycha Urengoy and Wintershall Holding (a wholly-owned subsidiary of BASF) set up the Achimgaz joint venture to develop the first pilot block (Block 1A) of the Achimov deposits in the Urengoyskoye field.
In 2008, Achimgaz commenced pilot production from Block 1A. The annual design capacity of Block 1A is over 9.6 billion cubic meters. In 2009, Gazprom started independently producing gas from the 2nd pilot block (Block 2A) of the Achimov deposits in the Urengoyskoye field.
In 2011, the block was brought into commercial production. Upon reaching its design capacity, Block 2A will annually yield 8.7 billion cubic meters of gas.
In 2015, Gazprom and Wintershall inked the Agreement regarding an asset swap deal. As a result, Gazprom raised its share in WINGAS, WIEH, and WIEE to 100 % and received a 50 % stake in WINZ. Wintershall, on its part, received 25.01 % in the project for the exploration and development of Blocks 4A and 5A of the Achimov deposits in the Urengoyskoye field.
In 2016, Gazprom and OMV signed the Basic Agreement regarding the asset swap. Gazprom received a 38.5 % in OMV Norge. In exchange, OMV obtained a 24.98 % stake in the project for developing Blocks 4A and 5A of the Achimov deposits in the Urengoyskoye oil, gas and condensate field.
At present, Gazprom is preparing the third (3A), fourth (4A), and fifth (5A) pilot blocks for development. After the 5 blocks reach their full capacity, the overall gas output will be around 36.8 billion cubic meters per year.
