The Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation has approved Gazprom Neft’s application for its project on “Developing Domestic Technologies and High-technology Equipment to Develop Reserves at the Bazhenov Formation” to be awarded the status of a national project. This state-sponsored project envisages the development and implementation of technologies for geological prospecting at promising oil and gas-bearing Bazhenov deposits, based on domestically-developed seismic, magnetic and gravitational methodologies, as well as specialist well investigations and technologies for geological-hydrodynamic modelling of strata. Implementation of the national project also envisages the development of Russian technologies for the construction of multi-stage horizontal wells, optimised for the mining and geological conditions of the Bazhenov Formation, as well as strategies for bringing light shale oil reserves into development through thermochemical oil recovery. Assuming all such technologies prove successful on implementation, consistent with Gazprom Neft’s adopted strategy for developing its resource base on the basis of non-traditional hydrocarbons, target production from reserves at the Bazhenov Formation could reach approximately 2.5 million tonnes per year. Key research and investigations under the national project will be undertaken by 2021. Commercial implementation of the technologies developed — and their roll-out on the domestic and international markets — is expected to occur throughout 2022 — 2025. (Source and image: Gazprom Neft)