Irving, Texas, United States
Exxon Mobil Corporation's (NYSE:XOM) technology leadership has resulted in another world record-setting well at the Sakhalin-1 oil project in eastern Russia, enabling the production of more energy while reducing the impact on the environment.
The well was drilled from land, using the world's most powerful land-based rig and employing extended-reach technology, to a target area in the oil reservoir located under the ocean about 7 miles or 11 kilometers from shore - roughly the distance of 125 U.S. football fields.
"This drilling success has contributed to other Sakhalin-1 project achievements, including the commencement of production five years after the project was declared commercial and 100 marine tanker shipments in the first year of export operations," said Morris Foster, president, ExxonMobil Production Company.
"Employing extended-reach technology to drill onshore beneath the seafloor to offshore oil and gas deposits eliminates the need for additional offshore structures, pipelines and associated activities," said Foster.
The project team at Sakhalin-1, which is operated by the corporation's subsidiary in Russia, Exxon Neftegas Limited, used ExxonMobil's leading-edge technologies to drill the record Z-12 well in half the time needed by conventional technology.
ExxonMobil used its Integrated Hole Quality technology to manage a broad range of well variables, including rock strength and stresses and well-bore hydraulics, together with an optimization process called Fast Drill, which analyzes the amount of energy used to make the drilling process faster and more efficient.
The Z-12 well is located in the Chayvo field, which contains 17 of the world's 30 longest extended reach drilling wells, and set a record by achieving a measured depth of 38,322 feet (11,680 meters), or more than seven miles. This exceeds by 1,306 feet (398 meters) the prior world record set in 2007 by Exxon Neftegas Limited's Z-11 well at the Sakhalin-1 project.
Over the life of the project, Sakhalin-1 is expected to contribute over US$50 billion to Russia's economy in taxes, royalty payments and the state's share of oil production. The project currently has awarded over US$4.4 billion in contracts to Russian companies. The proportion of Russian nationals working in project operations will approach 90 percent of the workforce as they are trained and gain experience.
Exxon Neftegas Limited (30 percent interest) is operator for the Sakhalin-1 project, which includes the Japanese company Sakhalin Oil and Gas Development Co. Ltd., (30 percent); affiliates of Rosneft, the Russian state-owned oil company, RN-Astra (8.5 percent), Sakhalinmorneftegas-Shelf (11.5 percent); and the Indian state-owned oil company ONGC Videsh Ltd. (20 percent).
More information about the Sakhalin-1 Project is available at: http://www.exxonmobil.com/Corporate/news_publications_sakhalin.aspx
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT: Estimates, expectations, and business plans in this release are forward-looking statements. Actual future results, including resource recoveries, production rates, and project plans and schedules, could differ materially due to changes in market conditions affecting the oil and gas industry or long-term oil and gas price levels; political or regulatory developments; reservoir performance; timely completion of development projects; technical or operating factors; and other factors discussed under the heading "Factors Affecting Future Results" in the Investor Information section of our website (www.exxonmobil.com) and in Item 1A of our most recent Form 10-K. References to "resources", "barrels of oil", and similar terms include quantities of oil and gas that are not yet classified as proved reserves but that we believe will be produced in the future.
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Source: Business Wire (Business Wire India)