OREANDA-NEWS. December 5, 2011. Gazprom Neft is launching its production programme in the Eastern part of the Orenburg oil and gas condensate field, where the company took control in October 2011. The new owner, Gazprom Neft, is drilling its first operating oil wells within its own investment programme.

The first stage of the programme starts with a pilot project involving the drilling of six wells. The completion of drilling the first horizontal well is scheduled for March 2012. This will extend 2,400 metres, and by the end of the year construction will have started on two further horizontal operating wells.

The pilot project will allow Gazprom Neft to start work in new parts of the field that are not yet in production. The results will help clarify the geology of previously uninvestigated areas and determine the potential of new wells, making it possible to draw up plans and take the technical decisions necessary to move on to full production in the new areas. The overall 2012 production programme will be adjusted in line with the results of the pilot project.

“Working efficiently to develop future production plans for this new asset will allow Gazprom Neft to meet the challenge, which is to create a new production area for the company in Orenburg region and triple current output to around 5 million tonnes of oil equivalent annually within five years,” said Vadim Yakovlev Gazprom Neft First Deputy CEO.