Re-injection well brought into operation at Prirazlomnoye field
ST PETERSBURG -- A re-injection well has been brought into operation on the Prirazlomnaya ice-resistant offshore platform, following drilling operations by Russia’s Gazprom Burenie, Gazprom Neft announced Tuesday.
The well will help streamline the use of resources at the field by improving the rate of oil recovery. The well is to be filled with what is known as ballast water—the liquid displaced from oil storage tanks once these have been filled with crude—with the re-injection well allowing the ballast water to be used directly at the field, with no risk of any harm to the environment.
A “zero emissions” system has been integrated into the platform to prevent the discharge of any production or drilling waste into the sea: these will, instead, be re-injected into the reservoir or transported onshore for further recycling.
Two production wells are in operation at Prirazlomnoye field. An absorption well has also been drilled, which is now being brought to its full capacity. Altogether, the project envisages 36 wells being brought into production, including 19 production wells, 16 re-injection wells and one absorption well.
“We are systematically increasing momentum in developing Prirazlomnoye field, while paying close attention to environmental safety,” Gennady Lubin, executive director, Gazpromneft-Shelf, said. “Utilizing this re-injection well will promote not just the effective development of the field, but will also allow the recycling of drilling by-products, without any risk of harming the natural environment.”
