Development concepts for Sakhalin's offshore field development

Abstract

When a company undertakes to develop an oilfield, certain activities represent the foundation of the development, ranging from information about the metocean conditions at the site to marketing. The concept phase itself includes screening of concepts, selection of concept and concept development. Use of engineering data and calculations that represents a feasibility study of offshore oil and gas field is essentially the screening of concepts. The selection of concept consists of finding a solution that would meet world technical, environmental and safety demands. Despite the fact that Sakhalin Island shelf contains enormous hydrocarbon reserves, it is also a very environmentally sensitive region. High environmental risks and extreme weather conditions entail high capital expenditures, which put significant burden of responsibility on the project team during the development concept stage. This is of great importance during the early stages of concept selection. Selecting the optimum Sakhalin Shelf development concept is the aim of my thesis. Significance in the concept selection chain affects selection of various parameters affecting the optimum development concept and subsequent prioritization. Special attention is paid to challenges and peculiarities that can be faced at the Sakhalin Region and could affect the concept of field development. My paper analysis addresses concept screening and engineering solutions. The main driving factors of concept selection are touched upon. The development concept and the criteria of its selection are paid special attention to in the thesis. The criteria selection process in this case is based on scientific literature, as well as articles and publications, containing useful material about offshore field developments in Arctic and Sub-Arctic. Development and design industry standards, those of Russian Federation and other countries, were also touched upon. All analysis results are presented in the form of methodological research, applicable to the entire Sakhalin region. A phased model for Sakhalin development concepts is created. Key parameters are discussed for the screening stage. Comparison of criteria for concept selection is also included. The final model – step by step approach to concept phase execution, is concluded to be applicable to Sakhalin oil and gas development projects. Conclusions drawn upon provide recommendation for the concept selection, applicable to the Sakhalin Shelf.