Lukoil Sinks Caspian Wildcat

Russian oil firm Lukoil has spudded an exploration well at the Shirotno-Rakushechnaya prospect in the Russian section of the Caspian Sea, north of its Grayfer oilfield, it reported on June 22.

The well has a design depth of 1,650 metres and was drilled by the Astra jack-up rig in waters 4.5 metres deep. It is targeting the same structural tectonic zone features as at the Korchagin, Grayfer and Filanovsky fields, which Lukoil discovered in 2000, 2001 and 2005 respectively. 

Lukoil also said it was studying the Khazri and Titonskaya structures. It is drilling a second well at the former, with a target depth of 5,200 metres in waters 45 metres deep, using the Neptune jack-up. Lukoil is searching for deposits in terrigenous and carbonate sediments of the Jurassic-Cretaceous era, it said.

The company added it had sunk a sixth well at a riser block platform at the Korchagin field, which with a daily flow rate of 348 mt of oil, will keep project's output stable. Korchagin became Lukoil's and Russia's first Caspian field to start production in 2010. Filanovsky came on stream in 2016, while Grayer is due online in 2022.

Lukoil is the only active producer in the Russian Caspian. It has found a total of ten fields there over the years, with combined recoverable reserves of 7bn barrels of oil equivalent. Its other key undeveloped deposits include Sarmatskoye, Khvalynskoye and 170 km. The company has also signed up to explore acreage in Kazakhstan's Caspian zone.