OREANDA-NEWS. January 4, 2010. OAO TATNEFT put into operation a unique slanted mast hoisting unit K-54 manufactured by the National Oilwell Varco Company (U.S.). This unit is intended to provide for working on the completion of horizontal wells with slanted wellhead equipment after drilling at the Ashalchinskoye extra-viscous oil field and subsequently it will be applied for working the wells over.

The workers and specialists of OOO Tatneft-Almetyevsk-RemServis Company have been trained to operate a new installation. The 3-inch tubing has been run in well number 15019 of NGDU Nurlatneft for its further completion with application of a coil tubing unit. Today, the K-54 installation works at well number 15210 preparing it for the wellbore temperature survey.

It is worth recalling that TATNEFT put into operation a Dreco-2000M slanted drilling rig at the same field in the summer of 2009. This rig had been acquired from the American company DRECO ENERGY SERVICES Ltd. late last year. The drilling rig of this type is the only one in Russia. A new Canadian steam generating facility had also been put into operation earlier.

Over 450 fields and deposits of extra-viscous oil have been discovered in Tatarstan TATNEFT has been carrying out a pilot development project at the Ashalchinskoye field starting 2006. A limiting factor is the lack of proven highly efficient production technologies. The Company earlier sent proposals to a number of domestic engineering companies for designing the equipment required for development of natural bitumen, such as rigs for horizontal drilling and steam generators.