ТNК-ВР continues transferring best international technologies to enhance development of its hydrocarbon fields in Russia. OJSC Samotlorneftegaz (SNG), a subsidiary of TNK-BP, has launched a pilot project to test innovative reservoir stimulation technology, which combines hydraulic fracturing with cutting-edge CarboNRT traceable proppant.

 

Hydraulic fracturing with proppant injection is not a new technology, but proppant with CarboNRT tracer is applied by oilmen of SNG for the first time. Tracer properties of new proppant survive for a long period of time, which allows to perform well operations over and over again.

 

Semen Kudrya, chief officer of intervention planning department at SNG, said: "Even after a year or two after performing hydraulic fracturing operations with this proppant we are still able to do geophysics. We can actually see whether the fracture has closed or not".

 

Altogether, the 2012 program includes 20 fracturing jobs that will use proppant tagged with CarboNRT nonradioactive tracer. The new proppant is detectable with neutron logging tools at conventional recording speeds and provides accurate measurement of propped fracture height. This technology helps considerably improve production performance in mature fields. The overall 2012 wellwork program envisions ca. 500 conventional frac jobs, including 212 completed in the first quarter.

 

Mugammir Galiullin, General Director of SNG, said: “The key objective for SNG is to cut back the decline in oil production. Last year we carried out 634 frac jobs against the plan of 480 that delivered 841,000 tons of incremental oil production”.

 

TNK-BP is Russia’s third largest oil company and is owned by BP and the AAR consortium (Alfa Group/Access Industries/Renova) on a parity basis. Additionally, TNK-BP owns approximately 50% of the Russian oil and gas company Slavneft. TNK-BP’s share in Russia’s oil production (including its share in Slavneft) is about 16%. The Company’s total proved SEC LOF reserves are 9.115 billion BOE as of December 31, 2011.