OREANDA-NEWS. Verkhnechonskneftegaz, which is developing the Verkhnechonskoe oil and gas condensate field in Irkutsk Oblast, is planning to supply oil to the VSTO (Eastern Siberian - Pacific Ocean) pipeline on completion of the first stage of construction.

“At the current rates of work, Verkhnechonskneftegaz plans to start supplying commercial quantities of oil to the VSTO pipeline in the second half of 2008,” reads a company statement.

Construction of the first stage of the VSTO pipeline, which is due to be filled mainly from fields in Western Siberia, is set for the end of 2008. It is planned at a later date to replace Western Siberian oil with oil extracted at Eastern Siberian fields, the most developed of which are Verkhnochonskoe and Talakanskoe.     

Three drilling contractors have been mobilized at the Verkhnechonskoe field and 16 directional wells are to be constructed this year, it is noted in the Verkhnechonskneftegaz statement.

A key company project in 2007 in terms of field and transport infrastructure setup is to lay an external oil delivery system to connect to the VSTO pipeline system. The company also plans to construct an 84-km road from its field to Talakanskoe, which is being developed by Surgutneftegaz.      

In addition, it is planned to build a bridge across the River Chona and begin construction of an oil treatment plant.

The main shareholders in Verkhnechonskneftegaz, which owns licenses to develop the Verkhnechonskoe oil and gas condensate field, are TNK-BP - 62,71% stake, Rosneft - 25,94% and East Siberian Gas Company - 11,29%. The field has remaining reserves amounting to 201,6m tonnes of oil, 155,000 tonnes of condensate, and 95,5bcm of gas.