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Arktikgaz Delays Gas Production Again
OAO Arktikgaz, a subsidiary of OOO Enineftegaz, will not begin gas condensate production at the Evo-Yakhinskoe and Urengoiskoe deposits next January 1 as planned, due to the inability of Gazprom to transport the gas. No new start date has been set. The new owners of the Arktikgaz planned to produce 2 billion cu. m. of gas this year, but failed to produce anything.
YUKOS, the previous owner of Arktikgaz and license holder for the deposits, had almost fully completed preparations for production. It too had problems connecting to the Single Gas-Supply System. UKOS was ready to pay for the construction of a 100-km. pipeline to connect the Urengoi site to the system, but Gazprom did not approve the technical specifications for it.
The company's current owner, an Italian joint venture, bought the company at auction on April 4 of this year. The company's proven reserves consist of 900 billion cu. m. of gas, about 300 million tons of gas condensate and 860 million tons of oil. The Italians bought the deposits and signed option agreements with Gazprom for the purchase of 20 percent of Gazprom Neft and 51 percent each of Arktikgaz and Urengoil Inc. They still did not receive access to the transport system, however.
Gazprom has restricted transport access to a number of independent companies. Arktikgaz is producing only at the Samburgskoe oil and gas deposit, but it owns five other deposits in addition to that one. The remainder are inoperable because of transport problems. Analysts say that the situation is caused by the warm heating season and the high usage on the transport system in the Nadym-Pur-Tazov area. There are no plans for technical upgrading, however. Thus, even with the changing weather, the situation is likely to remain unchanged.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Nov. 08, 2007
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