Novatek begins pilot production at North Chaselskoye

Novatek-Yurkharovneftegas LLC has begun pilot production from gas condensate deposits at North Chaselskoye. The Novatek subsidiary started production during hot commissioning, with the field launch announced on Apr 24, 2024.

The project’s annual production rates exceed 3 billion cubic metres of natural gas and 0.1 million tonnes of gas condensate. These are annual project rates, rather than a statement of volumes produced during the 2024 calendar year.

Novatek

Preparation for the field launch

Two production wells were drilled and completed at North Chaselskoye in 2023 in preparation for startup. The field was among Novatek’s development-drilling locations that year, alongside producing and developing assets elsewhere in its portfolio.

Across the Nadym-Pur-Taz region, exploration and production drilling continued with two objectives: maintaining pipeline-gas production and supplying the Purovsky Condensate Processing Plant. This regional programme covered multiple fields and licence areas.

Development and technical support

Novatek’s resource-development process connects geological investigation with the selection and implementation of a field-development system. Its technical work includes:

Seismic surveys and well investigations;
Drilling, well completion and geophysical logging;
Processing and interpretation of geological data.

The company’s Scientific and Technical Center in Tyumen analyses information and prepares forecasts. Its specialists and laboratory team support work from exploration planning through preparation of field-development projects.

A laboratory and research centre opened in Tyumen in 2022. Core and fluid studies support reserves assessment, production forecasting and the choice of extraction technologies across the company’s resource base.

Pipeline-gas strategy

Leonid Mikhelson, Novatek’s Chairman of the Management Board, identified maintaining pipeline-gas production within reach of the Unified Gas Supply System as part of the company’s strategy. He expects North Chaselskoye to contribute significantly to natural-gas volumes intended for the domestic market.