Implementing government decisions to increase the efficiency of APG utilization has, in turn, required serious efforts on the part of Russian oil and gas companies to develop and implement their own corporate programs. In particular, starting in 2008, Gazprom expanded its research program to include measures that will allow elaboration of optimal engineering solutions for APG utilization, so as to increase the degree of APG use at the company’s fields to at least 95% by 2011. A Gazprom Executive Board resolution dated January 22, 2009, “On the Prospects for Developing and Introducing Gas and Energy Conservation Technologies and Their Influence on Optimizing the Fuel and Energy Balance Sheet of the Russian Federation” clearly confirmed the course that the company had set toward high APG recovery in all corresponding production units. Implementation of decisions that were made included having its subsidiary Gazprom Neft successfully implement its own program, “Utilizing and Increasing the Efficiency of Use of APG.” In 2008–2010, this program involves investing 17.6 billion rubles in projects to utilize associated petroleum gas. Of this sum, more than 12 billion rubles will be earmarked for construction of gas collection networks and gas processing capacity, and around 5 billion rubles will be spent on development of its own generating capacity. The remaining 600 million rubles or so will be used to audit existing resources for APG recovery. The company plans to build new gas pipelines from the Yety-Pur, Mereto-Yakha, North Yangtinsky, Chatylkinskoye, Kholmisty, South Udmurt, Ravninnoye, and Vorgenskoye fields, and also from the Urmanskoye and Shinginskoye fields. Moreover, in 2008–2010, Gazprom Neft built four gas-turbine and two gas-piston power stations, and in the past year the company spent more than 5.5 billion rubles to increase the efficiency of associated gas use.
Positive examples set by other companies can also be cited. RN-Purneftegaz (a subsidiary of Rosneft) invested more than 600 million rubles to implement the first stage of an APG recovery program that should increase the company’s associated gas recovery to over 90% on the basis of 2010 results. The TNK-BP company invested $2 billion in the construction of a gas collection network and other measures to recover APG, and the average APG recovery level is now greater than 76%. Surgutneftegaz, Tatneft, Bashneft, and many other oil companies are also making determined efforts to achieve high APG recovery figures.
LUKOIL is successfully implementing its “Associated Petroleum Gas Recovery Program for 2007–2016.” The program provides for increasing associated gas recovery at company enterprises from 75% to 95% over 10 years. New projects will recover 100% of associated gas. The tentative increase in gas production will amount to more than 198 BCF per year. In addition, the company is planning to build gas-piston and gas-turbine power stations with a total capacity of more than 400 MW in remote regions that are short of energy. The largest projects will be carried out at the Tevlin-Russkinskaya and Vat-Yëgan fields in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District, and also at South Khylchuyu field in the Nenets Autonomous District. The first of these went online in December of 2007, comprising a 72-MW gas-turbine power station at the Vat-Yëgan field. This is the largest facility of its type in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District. As fuel, the station uses associated gas produced at the fields of the Kogalymneftegaz oil production enterprise to operate six gas-turbine engines that, in turn, drive six gas-turbine generating units. The design of the gas-turbine engines is based on the gas generator of the aircraft engine installed on Russian Il-96, Tu-204, and Tu-214 airplanes, while the power station’s long-service-life power reducer was developed and manufactured by the Kirov-Energomash Plant. Every year, the power station consumes 4.2 BCF of associated petroleum gas that in turn makes production capacity at the Lokosovsky Gas Processing Plant available to process gas from newly opened fields. In August 2008, LUKOIL–Western Siberia brought a new 72-MW power station online at the same Vat-Yëgan field. Earlier, the Perm Motor Works had delivered six GTU-12 gas turbine units to the station; these had been developed on the basis of the fourth-generation PS-90A aircraft engine, which has an efficiency of 33.7%. An agreement is now being implemented to deliver another eight power units for LUKOIL–Western Siberia, under which two power stations having a total capacity of 48 MW will be set up at the Tevlin-Russkinskaya and Pokachëva oil and gas fields. In accordance with the program mentioned above, LUKOIL also plans to build a series of gas energy complexes that will provide a reliable supply of electrical energy for oilfield production facilities and will substantially increase the volumes of associated gas recovered.
In January 2010, the LUKOIL Executive Board approved an “Energy Conservation Program at Company Enterprises in 2010 and the 2010–2012 Period.” It presents energy conservation measures for 48 organizations of the LUKOIL Group in such business sectors as oil and gas production in Russia, gas processing, refining in Russia and elsewhere, petrochemistry, supply of petroleum products to Russia and other countries, power generation, and transportation. In particular, the document calls for the optimization of production processes and the introduction of new energy efficient technologies and equipment. In 2010, pilot projects were undertaken to redesign formation pressure-maintenance system pumps, to broadly introduce valve drives in centrifugal and screw pumps, and to supply energy for production based on renewable energy sources and on combined thermal and electrical energy sources. Successful implementation of this conservation program saved LUKOIL around 700 million kWh of electrical energy, more than 320,000 Gcal of thermal energy, and almost 57,000 tons of boiler/furnace fuel equivalent in 2010. In monetary terms, energy conservation measures saved the company on the order of 2.166 billion rubles. In 2010–2012, implementation of the Energy Conservation Program will allow the LUKOIL Group to save more than 2.35 billion kWh of electrical energy, more than 970,000 Gcal of thermal energy, and almost 235,000 tons of boiler/furnace fuel equivalent. In monetary terms, the company plans to save on the order of 9.203 billion rubles over three years.
Oil companies are now faced with a choice: either build their own gas processing plants, or create joint ventures with Sibur, the primary consumer of natural gas liquids recovered from associated gas. It is obvious that creating one’s own gas processing capacity is a capital-intensive process requiring large investments to construct pipelines and gas processing plants, and to set up a product processing and resale system, and therefore most Russian oilmen prefer to share the expenses with gas chemists. Experts estimate that Sibur’s independent investment projects and joint investment projects with oilmen will allow the holding company to increase its APG processing volume to 777–848 BCF by 2011.