Novoportovskoye will boost Arctic oil shipping

The biggest oil field in the Yamal Peninsula will be ready for production in 2015. Most of the oil will be shipped out along the Northern Sea Route.

By

Atle Staalesen

February 13, 2013

The Novoportovskoye field holds 220 million tons of extractable oil and 260 billion cubic meters of gas and is under development by the Gazprom Neft company. The nearby terminal at Cape Kamenny in the Ob Bay is to be ready already in 2014, while field production launch is scheduled for 2015.

When ready, the Novoportovskoye field will result in a major increase in the level of oil shipments in Russian Arctic waters. All the oil is to be shipped out along the Northern Sea Route with the help of icebreakers. In addition, a new gas pipeline is to connect the field with Gazprom's pipe infrastructure in the region.

The field is located about 30 km inland from the Ob Bay, near the town of Novy Port. A public hearing on the project is currently underway in the town, Biztass.ru reports.

Gazprom Neft will in 2013 drill another three wells at the field. In 2012, a total of five wells were drilled, Oilru.com reports.

As previously reported, Gazprom Neft’s planned terminal at Cape Kammeny is located about 400 km south of the Sabetta Port, the site where Novatek is planning its Yamal LNG plant together with French energy major Total. A test sailing mission with the nuclear-powered icebreaker “Vaigach” in late 2011 showed that the site can be used for the purpose. The Ob waters are in winter covered by ice with a thickness of up to two meters and the ice-free season lasts only about three months.