Historikk

Problems of old oil fields in the southern part of the TIMAN-PECHORA PROVINCE,
and possibilities of completing their development

By A.V. Petukhov, E.N. Karakchiyev (Ukhta Industriallnstitute), I.V. Kuvayev (West

Oil PC, Ukhta)

The history of discovery and primitive oil recovery in the south of the Timan-Pechora Province
goes down with its roots into the 16th-17th centuries. It was then that the Mezen ore-
prospector G.I. Cherepanov found an "oil spring" at the Ukhta River. In 1745 the Archangelsk
ore-prospector Fedor S. Pryadunov found the first oilfield in Russia in the Vodny settlement
area.

F. S. Pryadunov and his followers gathered oil from water surface of the Ukhta and its
tributaries until 1767. In 1868-1873 a prominent public figure of the 19th century M.K.
Sidorov, a native of Archangelsk, drilled oil wells here, around the present Vodny settlement.
They managed to deepen one of them down to nearly 60 m. This was the first deep well in the
north that produced oil. Interest in the Ukhta oil began to rise especially in 1909-1913, when
fuel deficit was felt extremely acutely in Russia. An exploration expedition of the Mining
Department appeared on the Ukhta banks.

It where replaced by a private company called "Russian Oil Partnership" (ROP), the major
stock of which belonged to foreign capital. In 1916 an oil inflow with flow rate of 0.5 tons/day
was achieved from well ROP No.1, drilled to 477.5 m in the junction area of the Chibyu and
Ukhta rivers. Later the geological exploration expedition headed by N.N. Tikhonovich
confirmed commercial value of the Chibyu oil, when in October 1930 a flowing influx of oil
from an exploration/development well announced discovery of the first commercial oil field in
the Timan-Pechora Province.

The Chebyu field was operated from 1930 to 1957 using the dissolved gas drive. A settlement
of Chebyu appeared on the place of the Chebyu oilfield to be renamed into a workers'
settlement of Ukhta in 1939, and later, in November 1943, into a district administration town,
to become subsequently a major industrial center of the Komi Republic and the oil capital of
the Timan-Pechora Province. Over the entire development period 765 wells were drilled in the
area of the Chebyu field, 675 of them were on production (the rest were abandoned). 562,220
thousand tons of oil has been recovered from the deposit since the beginning of development.
Initial recoverable reserves, approved by the CCR in 1938, made up for categories A + B
-1021 thousand tons, category C1 -2700 thousand tons. In 1941, in connection with much
higher reduction factors of oil flow rates that it was expected earlier, recoverable reserves
were revaluated. As of 01.01.41 the field residual reserves were accepted to be for the A + B
categories –720 869 thousand tons, category C1 -240192 thousand tons, category C2 –205
200 thousand tons. No estimation was made of the field total reserves. As of the write-off
date (19.07.65) 344 thousand tons of recoverable reserves of the A + B categories were
counted at the oil field. No production stimulation or oil' recovery rate increase methods were
applied, except for individual attempts of electric heating of well bottoms in 1941. Wells were
operated with rod pumps, and in the first years of development - by bailing, using a horse-
driven winch. The maximum level of oil production in the field was achieved in 1938, and it
made up 63410 thousand tons from 197 wells. Before shutting down the operation in 1956,
146 wells were operated, which only produced 7590 tons that year, or in the average, 52 tons
of oil per well.

Shutting down the field operation was justified by the fact that during the lengthy operation
period the equipment and oilfield supply lines had become completely defective. To bring the
oilfield into the conditions that would meet operation and safety requirements would take 8
million roubles of capital investments, according to the economic estimation made at that
time.

The commission found it inexpedient to distract funds, material and human resources to
restoring the field.

To date, according to estimations made by the Geology Chair of the Ukhta Industrial Institute,
the oil recovery rate achieved during the Chibyu field operation doesn’t exceed 8,6 %. This
goes to show that the total residual oil reserves of A, B, C, and C2 categories in the field
exceed 6000 thousand tons. Besides, there is multiple data on oil shows from the old well
stock.