Best of 2016 | Gazprom Finds Sakhalin Gas

*This article was originally published on September 26, 2016

Russian gas major Gazorm found a gas field offshore Sakhalin in Russia’s far east, it said September 22. “In the course of geological exploration of the Kirinsky prospect in the Sea of Okhotsk, a prospecting and appraisal well was drilled in the Yuzhno-Lunskaya structure within the Sakhalin III project. As a result, a substantial gas and condensate inflow was reported, signaling the discovery of a new field,” it said.

Once the well has been tested and the geological information analysed, the reserves estimates for the new field will be submitted to the federal agency for subsoil use, so that they may be included in the state register of mineral reserves.

As part of the Sakhalin III project, Gazprom is engaged in the geological exploration of three licensed blocks: Kirinsky, Ayashsky, and Vostochno-Odoptinsky. Within the Kirinsky block, Gazprom has also discovered the Yuzhno-Kirinskoye and Mynginskoye fields.

One outlet for the gas could be the Sakhalin Energy LNG plant, where Anglo-Dutch Shell and Gazprom are considering expanding the capacity by adding a train, although Shell did not comment on that. Front-end engineering and design work on the terminal is continuing. 

Sakhalin region and Sea of Okhotsk

Source: Gazprom

The next steps include a gas sales and purchase agreement between Gazprom and Sakhalin Energy, Shell said September 26.

William Powell