BASF, Gazprom launch Siberia natgas production

12 November 2008 10:53  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--German chemicals major BASF and Russian oil company Gazprom on Wednesday officially launched natural gas production at its Achimgaz joint venture in Siberia.

The joint venture plans to recover up to 200bn cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas and 40m tonnes of condensate from the Achimov formation over a period of more than 40 years, BASF said in a statement.

The natural gas production target during the plateau phase is up to 7.5bcm/year, it added.

“Today, are we not only procuring natural gas from Russia and marketing it with Gazprom - we are now producing gas together in Russia, too,” said BASF CEO Jurgen Hambrecht at the official opening ceremony near the town of Novy Urengoy in Yamalia, western Siberia. That means more supply security for Germany and all of Europe.

ZAO Achimgaz was founded in July 2003 as a joint venture by Gazprom subsidiary Gazprom dobytscha Urengoi and wholly owned BASF subsidiary Wintershall Holding, with both partners holding equal shares.

It is the second joint natural gas production project by Gazprom and BASF in Siberia.

The Yuzhno Russkoye natural gas field was commissioned in 2007. It has recoverable natural gas reserves of more than 600bcm and supplies more than 50m cubic meters/day of natural gas.

“We will reach maximum production there of 25bcm/year of gas by the middle of 2009 – two years earlier than originally planned," said Hambrecht.

BASF added that the two companies were planning to make additional investments worth several billion euros in European natural gas infrastructure in the coming years.

Most of the planned investments would be earmarked for the construction of the Nord Stream Baltic Sea pipeline due to be commissioned in 2011, as well as the expansion of the German transport system and the construction of new natural gas storage facilities in Europe.

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For more on the European gas markets visit ICIS Heren

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By: Hilde Ovrebekk
+44 20 8652 3214

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