The Russian oil production company Rus­Petro engaged technical experts from Sch­lumberger to plan drilling fractured horizontal wells. By partnering with its colleagues from Schlumberger, RusPetro seeks to improve sub­stantially its developmental plans and technical expertise. The end result of the partnership between the companies will be new subsur­face reviews and field development plans. The introduction of a wider use of horizontal drilling and the demarcation of precise boundaries of the Bazhenov Shale in the West Siberian basin are two of the major goals RusPetro is planning to accomplish with the help of the new partner.

Part of the work to be performed by the com­panies will be conducted at RusPetro offices in Moscow, where colleagues from Schlumberger will help determine the most favorable loca­tions for drilling and evaluate the costs of drill­ing. Mapping and forecasting will need to take place to achieve higher map resolution and estimate possible outcomes. Geological data will be closely examined also. RusPetro expects to benefit from Schlumberger’s world-wide ex­perience and to find a solution for extracting oil under complex conditions. Besides horizontal drilling, RusPetro looks forwarded to improv­ing multistage fracture completions during its joint project management with Schlumberger. According to the agreement, Schlumberger is expecting performance-based compensation.

Since the 300,000 acre Bazhenov Shale pres­ents complex environmental challenges, the Russian government has developed a relief program to forego imposing the Mineral Ex­traction Tax starting in 2014. This is only one of the first steps in developing the entire Western Siberian basin.

Tom Reed, the CEO for RusPetro, said that Schlumberger is recognized as one of the leading companies in the world in tight oilfield development. RusPetro expect the partnership to give the company the technical tools and sub-surface understanding required to maximize production rates, calculate the expected ultimate recovery rate for oil and, therefore, compute the investment efficiency per well. Furthermore, the work will result in an improved, know-how driven field development plan for RusPetro, which would be mapped out using world-class technology and the best practices for tight oil production.

“Having stabilized our financial position this summer, we consider this partnership a critical next-step towards the profitable and measured development of our field,” Mr. Reed said.