Rakushechnoye Oil and Gas Field

The Rakushechnoye oil and gas field is located 100km off the western coast of Russia in the Caspian Sea. It is being developed by PJSC LUKOIL.

Rakushechnoye is LUKOIL’s third biggest project in the region after the Yury Korchagin and Vladimir Filanovsky fields. The Russian Maritime Register of Shipping reviewed the development plan for the Rakushechnoye field in April 2018.

The final investment decision for field development was made in July 2018, and construction on the infrastructure facilities began with a ground-breaking ceremony in October 2018.

The field is expected to start commercial oil and gas production in 2023 at a plateau rate of 1.2 million tonnes of oil per annum (Mtpa).

Rakushechnoye oil and gas field discovery and location

LUKOIL discovered the Rakushechnoye field in the North Caspian sea in 2001, along with five other large oil and gas fields, as part of exploratory works undertaken between 1999 and 2005.

The Rakushechnoye field lies approximately 160km away from the port of Astrakhan and approximately 8.5km from the Vladimir Filanovsky field. Water depth at the field ranges from 5m to 8m.

Reserves

The recoverable reserves of the Rakushechnoye field are estimated to be approximately 39 million tonnes (Mt) of oil and 33 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas.

Rakushechnoye oil and gas field development details

LUKOIL developed geological models for the Rakushechnoye field in 2014. A 1,650m-deep exploration well was drilled at the field in 2015, which enabled the company to confirm the presence of commercial-scale reserves. All exploratory activities related to the field were completed during the same year.

Bids were called and a contract was signed in 2016 for undertaking the front-end engineering design (FEED).

LUKOIL intends to use the available power and infrastructure facilities at the nearby fields to treat and ship the produced oil and gas.

Infrastructure facilities at Rakushechnoye

The main infrastructure facilities at Rakushechnoye will include a fixed offshore ice-resistant platform, a living quarters platform and a crossover bridge.

Subsea inter-field pipelines and cable lines will be laid for connecting the field to the ice-resistant platform at the Vladimir Filanovsky field.

LUKOIL will construct the offshore facilities in the Astrakhan region by making use of the assembly site of OOO LUKOIL-Nizhnevolzhskneft along with the production facilities of the subcontractors.

The design, manufacturing of components, and installation of offshore facilities will comply with the rules set by the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping.

Hydrocarbons processing and export

Hydrocarbons produced at the Rakushechnoye field will be delivered to the central processing platform (CPP) of the Vladimir Filanovsky field for treatment. The CPP weighs 21,000t and is used for processing and platform-to-shore transportation of oil and associated gas. The oil will be treated in two processing trains, each with a capacity of 3Mt per annum.

The processed oil will be exported onshore through the 1,500km Caspian pipeline consortium (CPC) system, which was commissioned in October 2001. The CPC is the sole mainland pipeline in Russia and Kazakhstan held by private companies. It is capable of transporting 67 million tonnes of oil a day.

Contractors involved

CDB Corall was appointed as the main designer for the ice-resistant platform, living quarters, subsea pipelines and power cables.