25th anniversary of the Sakhalin-1 Project

This marked the beginning of one of the largest foreign direct investment projects in Russia. The Sakhalin-1 project implementation required the use of the most advanced technologies, and multiple industry records were set as a result of the search for the most effective solutions with respect to project economics and environmental protection.

After additional exploration and confirmation of reserves, the first Sakhalin-1 production wells were drilled at the offshore Chayvo field in 2003 using the powerful land-based Yastreb rig, and early oil production began in 2005. In 2010, the Odoptu field was put on stream, and 5 years later, in 2015, first oil flowed from the Berkut platform in the Arkutun-Dagi field. Currently, all of the Sakhalin-1 license blocks are producing.

The Sakhalin-1 project has achieved a number of milestones over the last 25 years:

• The planned peak production rate of 34 thousand tons per day was achieved shortly after the start of development – in 2007. A peak is usually followed by a production decline, but Sakhalin-1 reached a new peak of 41 thousand tons per day in 2018! This was made possible by the phased field development, geotechnical measures, and numerous innovative engineering solutions.
• Sakhalin-1 is the world record holder for extended reach wells: 9 of the 10 longest wells in the world were drilled here, including the longest O-5 well (15 thousand meters) at the Chayvo field. The project uses four of the most powerful drilling rigs in the world.
• Sakhalin-1 was the first project in Russia to implement year-round oil delivery by tankers, including in winter when the sea is covered with ice. Specially built Aframax-class tankers with a double hull and a cargo capacity of 100 thousand tons are used to transport the oil.
• Tankers are loaded using one of the world's largest single point mooring facilities: it rises 60 meters above sea level, while the sea depth at the installation site is about 22 meters. It is fully automated and remotely controlled.
• The Arkutun-Dagi field is being developed from the Berkut platform – the largest in Russia, weighing around 200 thousand tons of reinforced concrete substructure and topsides.
• More than 1,200 tankers have been loaded with 123.5 million tons of oil, and over 28 billion cubic meters of natural gas have been delivered to consumers in the Russian Far East.

Video greetings from Sakhalin Oblast Government, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk administration, partners and grant recipients