Gas from Russia
18 Jul 2003
Urengoygazprom, a subsidiary of the Russian energy company Gazprom, has established a 50/50 joint venture with Wintershall to develop some of Russia's natural gas reserves.
The joint venture, set up in Novy Urengoy in western Siberia under the name of Achimgaz, will extract natural gas from the Urengoy field. The deposits in the field, located within the polar circle, are expected to produce 200 billion cubic metres of gas and 40 million tons of condensate.
A $90 million pilot phase, starting in 2004, will involve the development of six wells, and construction of the necessary gas processing plants. If the pilot is successful, a further 82 wells will be built at a cost of $600 million.
Gazprom will purchase the natural gas extracted by the new joint venture and market it. Gazprom expects to sell about 75% of the total gas extracted to the domestic market, while the rest will be exported.
