Assessment of Industrial Gas Content in the Yamal and Gydan Oil and Gas Bearing Areas

Abstract

In accordance with the strategic planning documents of the Russian gas industry, the development of the Yamal and Gydan oil and gas bearing regions is one of the priority tasks, as they are associated with the formation of a strategic reserve of gas resources and the creation of new gas production centers. The article analyses the spatial distribution of natural gas reserves in the oil and gas bearing areas of the Arctic region and concludes that the distribution of free gas resources is uneven both by section and by area. Some oil and gas bearing areas are characterized by a weak degree of geological and geophysical study. Depletion of the base fields in the Pur-Taz and Nadym-Pur oil and gas bearing areas raises the question of shifting the raw material base of the gas industry to the hard-to-reach areas of Yamal and Gydan, including the waters of the Kara Sea, the Ob, Taz and Gydan Bays. The paper provides a quantitative assessment of the level of commercial gas content of the Yamal and Gydan oil and gas bearing areas, including in the context of oil and gas bearing regions. It was determined that based on the technology of field development, processing and transportation scheme when assessing the prospects of development and options for monetization of gas resources, a zone of pipeline transport and a zone of liquefied natural gas are distinguished. Taking into account the current economic conjuncture of Arctic natural gas reserves development, it is reasonable and promising at this point in time to expand the resource base by developing satellite fields in Yamal and Gydan oil and gas bearing regions, which already have developed production, processing, transport and social infrastructure, as well as through additional exploration of discovered and developed fields and deposits.