Russia’s first ever quadruple multilateral well

Gazprom Neft subsidiary Gazpromneft-Yamal has recently completed construction of Russia’s first ever multilateral well with four horizontal cased-hole side tracks, at its Novoportovskoye field. A total 6,756 metres was drilled, including 4,411 metres drilled in the target strata. The well was constructed in 39 days at a rate of 5.78 days per 1,000 metres.

Drilling horizontally branched wells facilitates a manifold increase in drainage from disjointed low-permeability strata, significantly increasing the oil recovery factor at productive strata and bringing marginal reserves into development without the need to drill additional wells. Russian-produced equipment was used in well construction, retooled in line with the specific geological conditions of the Novoportovskoye field.

 

About Novoportovskoye field

Development of the Novoportovskoye field on the Yamal Peninsula is one of Gazprom Neft’s strategic projects. In 2016, following the commissioning of the Arctic Gates oil loading terminal, the company began full-scale oil production at the field.

The complexity of developing the Novoportovskoye field is the result of low-permeability reservoirs and multiple tectonic abnormalities, leading to the significant disconnection of deposits segregation of deposits, together with a significant gas cap.

The viable production of high-quality, low-sulphur oil in Yamal has been achieved through the use of cutting-edge technologies, including the construction of horizontal and multilateral wells, and the use of multistage fracking.

Now running to 2150, this represents the longest license term in Gazprom Neft’s asset portfolio.

 

History

Novoportovskoye was the first field discovered on the Yamal Peninsula, with the presence of major oil and gas reserves here having been proved as early as 1964. The absence of transport infrastructure, however, together with the complex underlying geology, remained insurmountable obstacles to starting full-scale development of the field.

While 117 exploratory wells had been drilled by 1987, proactive development of this asset did not begin until after 2010, when Gazprom took the decision to transfer it to Gazprom Neft. Gazpromneft-Yamal LLC is currently operator on this project.