Gazprom Neft Orenburg has started drilling a wildcat well on the 140-sq-km Kuvayskoye license in Russia’s Orenburg Oblast.
The well will reach a depth of 4,000 m, the deepest of any drilled on Gazprom Neft Orenburg fields.
Ongoing activity involves 3D seismic fieldwork to allow more detailed analysis and clarification of the geological structure of the area, along with the identification of promising deposits and their further study, the company says.
Similar studies have already been undertaken at neighboring Tsarichanskoye field. A single, comprehensive geological model will be constructed based on data from both fields.
Gazprom Neft Orenburg acquired the Kuvayskoye exploration and production license in October 2014. The area abuts the company’s Orenburg Tsarichanskoye field, creating various synergies and economies of scale through the joint use of oil preparation and transportation infrastructure, along with the utilization of associated petroleum gas, the company says.
Gazprom Neft Orenburg operates five fields across the Orenburgsky, Novosergiyevsky, Perevolotsky, and Sorochinsky districts. The eastern area of Orenburgsky oil and gas condensate field has reserves of 100 million tonnes of oil equivalent.
The company also is active on Kapitonovskoye, Tsarichanskoye, Filatovskoye, and Baleykinskoye fields.
Consolidated production at Gazprom Neft Orenburg totaled more than 3.8 million tonnes of oil equivalent in 2014, a year-over-year increase of 29%.
