Gazprom Neft confirms first shipment of Yamal oil via sea terminal

 

CAPE KAMENNY, Russia -- A formal ceremony marking the first year-round shipment of Yamal oil via the Arctic Gates oil-loading terminal took place last week at the Cape Kamenny settlement in Russia's Yamal Peninsula.

Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller and Gazprom Neft CEO Alexander Dyukov were both present at the event, and Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the instruction, via a video link, to commence loading Novoportovskoye oil onto the tanker.
Novoportovskoye oil and gas-condensate field—the most significant in Yamal, in terms of reserves—lies 700 km from onshore pipeline infrastructure.

The use of the latest technologies in the construction of production, transportation and, most importantly, shipping infrastructure allowed commercial production to commence within four years. Production of 6.3 million tonnes of crude per year is expected as early as 2018. Plans for further development of the field will be confirmed before the end of 2017.

Oil from Novoportovskoye field is transported by pipeline to the coast of the Gulf of Ob: this offers a critically low depth for sea navigation (at just 11 m), as a result of which the oil-loading terminal is located directly in the sea, 3.5 km from the shore. The terminal has the capacity to load up to 8.5 million tonnes of oil per year.

The Arctic Gate offshore oil terminal is a unique facility, designed to operate under extreme natural and climatic conditions: temperatures in the region can drop below -50oC, with ice reaching thicknesses of up to 2 m.

All equipment at the terminal is fully automated, with a built-in hydraulic-impact protection system. A special system allows a tanker’s immediate disconnection from the terminal, while maintaining the hermetically-sealed integrity of the two components.

“Zero-emissions” technology eliminates any risk of contaminants reaching the waters of the Ob Sea—an issue of overriding importance in protecting the ecology of the Arctic. In addition to which, the underwater pipeline connecting the terminal with the onshore storage facility is covered with an additional protective concrete casing.

“Gazprom is committed to the ongoing development of the Arctic," Alexey Miller, chairman of Gazprom, said. "Successful oil production is ongoing at Prirazlomnoye field—the only upstream development project on the Russian Arctic shelf. Development of a gas production center—unparalleled anywhere in the world—is now running at full tilt on the Yamal Peninsula. Here, together with the gas center, we are now developing a new oil province. The ‘Arctic Gates’ are now open for the dispatch of Yamal oil to European customers via the Northern Sea Route, all year round.”

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