Achimgaz now operates at full capacity

• Joint venture between Wintershall Dea and Gazprom Dobycha Urengoy achieves plateau production
• 108 production wells enable an annual production of ten billion cubic metres of natural gas

Achimgaz, the 50:50 joint venture between Gazprom’s subsidiary Gazprom Dobycha Urengoy and Wintershall Dea, commissioned the last of 108 production wells in October 2019, enabling an annual plateau production of ten billion cubic metres of natural gas.

The production of natural gas and condensate from the technically and geologically demanding Achimov formation in the Urengoy field in Western Siberia requires extensive know-how. The Achimgaz joint venture is regarded as a prime example of successful Russian-German cooperation in the energy sector. Founded in 2003, Achimgaz began pilot drilling in 2008 and started commercial production in 2011. To date, Gazprom Dobycha Urengoy and Wintershall Dea have produced more than 43 billion cubic metres of natural gas and 19 million tonnes of condensate in this joint project.

"All project partners can be proud of the result," emphasises Thilo Wieland, Wintershall Dea’s Executive Board member responsible for Russia. "The goals also remain ambitious in the long term: Achimgaz is continuously working on technological and economic optimisations. After production plateau is reached, our target is to stabilise natural gas production at a peak level by enlarging the processing plant’s capacities.”

The experience gained at Achimgaz will now also be used for the development of blocks 4A and 5A in the Achimov formation. As the general contractor, Achimgaz will take over the development phase on behalf of Achim Development, Wintershall Dea’s latest joint venture in Russia. The first wells in this development were drilled this year.

_{About Wintershall Dea}

_{With the merger of Wintershall Holding GmbH and DEA Deutsche Erdoel AG, two successful companies with a long tradition have formed Europe’s leading independent natural gas and oil company: Wintershall Dea. The company with German roots and headquarters in Kassel and Hamburg explores for and produces gas and oil in 13 countries worldwide in an efficient and responsible manner. With activities in Europe, Russia, Latin America and the MENA region (Middle East & North Africa), Wintershall Dea has a global upstream portfolio and, with its participation in natural gas transport, is also active in the midstream business.}

_{Wintershall Dea stands for more than 120 years of experience as an operator and project partner along the entire E&P value chain. The company employs around 4,000 people worldwide from over 60 nations. The company plans to increase its average daily production from about 590,000 barrels of oil equivalent in 2018 to about 750,000 boe/d by 2023.}