Gazprom Neft enters new stage of shale oil exploration in Western Siberia

Russian oil firm Gazprom Neft has entered into a new stage of assessing the shale oil deposits potential in Western Siberia.

The company’s subsidiary Gazpromneft-Khantos has started drilling the initial horizontal well in the Bazhenov complex of the Palyanovsky deposit at the Krasnoleninsky field.

Gazpromneft-Khantos will drill the first well to a depth of over 3,200m with the horizontal borehole extending about 300m.

The company will undertake three-stage hydraulic fracturing at the deposits in order to increase efficiency.

Gazprom expects to drill four wells in the new phase of the project in 2014-2015, increasing the fracking stages and the length of the horizontal sections in consecutive stages.

During the earlier stage that started in 2013, the company drilled five controlled-directional wells with hydraulic fracturing used in four, resulting in commercial oil flows.

The company said another project continues in the Southern-Priobskoye field, with studies of core samples and 3D seismic survey data from the Bazhenov-Abalak formation.

The initial stage of the programme includes drilling the controlled-directional prospecting and appraisal wells during 2014-2015 in order to identify the horizon’s potential.

Seismic studies of the deposits utilising the 3-D method are anticipated to continue in 2016 apart from the drilling of horizontal wells.

Gazprom Neft first deputy CEO Vadim Yakovlev said: "The Bazhenov formation is an example of our work with non-traditional deposits, which is an area the Company is focused on developing.

"By implementing pilot projects we determine the optimal method for working with these resources in order to develop further projects effectively."

The Bazhenov formation is a stratum of rock which has been identified in the central area of Western Siberia at depths of 2,000m to 3,000m.

Several estimates indicate that the oil reserves in the Bazhenov formation reservoir are expected reach 100 to 170 billion tonnes in Western Siberia alone.

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Image: Palyanovsky deposit at the Krasnoleninsky field. Photo: Courtesy of Gazprom neft.