PJSC Gazprom has started natural gas production from 1.8-trillion cu m Kovyktinskoye field and placed the 804-km Koykta-Chayanda leg of the Power of Siberia pipeline into service, Russian-state Interfax reported. Production from Kovyktinskoye will be transported on Power of Siberia to both Russian consumers and China.
Drilling of production wells at the field started in July 2019, according to Interfax, with startup and commissioning of the associated comprehensive gas-treatment unit (CGTU-2) following in October 2022. Gazprom had drilled four exploratory wells at Kovyktinskoye the year before and acquired 3D seismic data across 2,460 sq km of the field (OGJ Online, Oct. 22, 2018).
The company plans to bring several more CGTU online in its efforts to produce 27 billion cu m/year from Kovyktinskoye, the press agency said.
“The launch of [Kovyktinskoye] field, including CGTU-2 and the Kovykta-Chayanda section, will promote the development of gas supplies to the eastern regions of Russia and the reliable fulfillment of obligations for the supply of Russian gas via the Eastern Route for export to China,” Interfax concluded.