“Combined oilfield development in the Pechora Sea by using IRGBS "Prirazlomnaya" as a hub"

Abstract

For a few last decades, the Arctic region is considered to be very wealthy in terms of oil and gas resources. Initial estimations show that roughly 100 billion tonnes of oil and gas reserves might be accumulated under the surface of the Arctic region (Kontorovich, 2015). Beginning with the general description of the most explored oilfields located in the southeastern part of the Barents Sea (Pechora Sea), the project comprehensively considers conceptual development of the Medynskoe-more oilfield by utilizing the IRGBS “Prirazlomnaya”, in particular: * development of the optimal oil production strategy for the oilfield; * selection of the appropriate offshore structure; * selection and justification of the possible oil transportation solution; * design and construction of the subsea pipeline from the Medynskoe-more oilfield to the IRGBS “Prirazlomnaya”; * analysis of the processing, storing and offloading systems in the IRGBS “Prirazlomnaya”. Special emphasis is done on a detailed elaboration of a subsea pipeline that should be able to withstand harsh environmental conditions in the Arctic region, including ice presence (formation of stamukhas) and shallow waters (substantial hydrodynamic loads from wave and current). Aspects such as pipeline design, on bottom stability and pipeline trenching are reasonably considered. Moreover, risk analysis procedure is provided by applying hazard identification method (HAZID) with the subsequent bow-tie diagrams construction for the most dangerous risks. In order to evaluate the economic feasibility of the proposed project, the cost-effective analysis is fulfilled. Eventually, a conclusion and recommendations for future work are presented based on the technical and economical results.