Russian Gazprom Launches New Arctic Gas Production

Production at the Semakovskoje gas field in the Russian Arctic has started, announced the Russian state-controlled energy company Gazprom on Tuesday. The gas is pumped into Russia's national supply system. This is reported by Reuters.  

The gas field is partly offshore at partly on land in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, West Siberia. In the first phase, the operation will involve 19 wells, a gas treatment unit for 7,5 million cubic meters yearly – as well as a 122 km long gas pipe from the field to the national gas transmission system, according to Interfax.

The majority of the gas reserves in the field are located offshore in the Taz Estuary in the Kara Sea (a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean). Here, the gas will be extracted through a network of wells with a longer reach. Semakovskoje will be Russia's first offshore gas field that will be developed like this.