OREANDA-NEWS. In 2007-2009 TNK-BP plans to invest 64 bn rubles in the development of the Uvat group of fields, including more than 19 bn rubles in 2007 - it was announced by the company’s Chief Operating Office Tim Summers at a meeting with teachers and students at Tyumen State Oil and Gas University in Tyumen on Thursday.

As Mr. Summers explained, by 2011 the company intends to produce up to 3 m tons of oil per year at the Uvat group of fields. The centre of production in the south of Tyumen Oblast is presently the Kalchinskoe field (under development since 1992) with an annual production volume of 1,4 m tons of oil.     

Currently at the appraisal stage are the Urnenskoe and Ust-Tegusskoe fields, which are estimated to have 80m tonnes of remaining reserves. Exploration drilling is being carried out on the adjacent license areas, he said.    

As previously reported with reference to Sergei Brezitsky, EVP Upstream, in 2009 TNK-BP plans to produce at the 1,3-1,5 m tons of oil at the Eastern hub of the Uvat project.

He stated that the company had undertaken development of the Eastern hub, which includes the Urnenskoe and Ust-Tegusskoe fields. Mr. Brezitsky announced that in 2008 a pilot production of the Central hub was due to begin as part of the Uvat project and exploration work was due to be conducted at the western and southern areas of the project.  

A TNK-BP representative noted that the company was currently “in the process of contemplating the available reserves and drawing up various technical schemes to develop the Uvat project.” He explained that in the best-case scenario the Uvat project had up to 200 m tons of remaining oil reserves. In particular, as regards the Eastern hub this figure amounts to approximately 100m tonnes of oil (C1 reserves according to the Russian classification).     

TNK-BP’s Uvat project is made up of 12 licenses. In particular, the Severo-Demyanskiy, Irtyshskiy, Chirpskiy, Ligiyaskiy and Kalchinskiy licenses are officially registered under Tyumenneftegaz (a 100% TNK-BP subsidiary). Registered under TNK-Uvat (also a 100% TNK-BP subsidiary) are the Ust-Tegusskoe, Urnenskiy, Pikhtovyi, Yuzhno-Pihktovyi, Severo-Bolotnyi licenses, while the Ururnyi and Keumskiy licenses are registered under TNK-BP.