Sakhalin celebrates 125 years of production

125 years ago this month, at the territory of present-day Okhinsky district geologic exploration was performed for the first time in Sakhalin’s oil and gas history. Since that moment starts a rich history of Sakhalin hydrocarbons production.

From kerosene water to full-fledged production

At the end of the 19th century, people knew about the presence of the “kerosene water” (this is what locals called the liquid with a kerosene smell) in some rivulets and gully pits. In 1879, pursuant to instructions of their master, a merchant Alexey Ivanov, two clerks arrived in the area especially to explore oil deposits and to stake claims. The very first exploration wells were drilled ten years later by Ivanov’s successor, a former marine officer from Saint-Petersburg Grigory Zotov. He bought four drilling rigs in Saint-Petersburg to start works and by the summer of 1889 organised an expedition to the north of Sakhalin, which was led by an experienced mining engineer Leopold Batsevich.

The history of hydrocarbons production at Sakhalin dates back to 1928, when on 10 August a state association for the oil and gas industry was established as a trust of national importance named Sakhalinneft, now known as Sakhalinmorneftegaz, NC Rosneft subsidiary.

Growing production

In more than 80 years, Sakhalinmorneftegaz has risen from a small trust to a leading enterprise, using innovative methods of exploration. For instance, for the first time in the industry, heat methods to influence reservoirs were introduced on an industrial scale at the Sakhalin fields, which allowed for an increase in volumes of high-viscosity oil extraction.

Since then the enterprise has produced around 130 million t of oil and more than 70 billion m³ of gas. At the moment the annual performance of Sakhalinmorneftegaz totals 1.2 million t of oil and more than 400 billion m³ of gas.

Sakhalinmorneftegaz is one of the oldest oil production enterprises. It performs operating functions at more than 30 development licenses of Sakhalin oil and gas deposits.

Adapted from press release by Cecilia Rehn

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/drilling-and-production/10072014/sakhalin_celebrates_125_years_of_production/