West Siberian oil base: geographic location, characteristics, prospects, problems, consumers

The oil and gas industry is the largest branch of the country's economy . According to the explored reserves, Russia is on the second place after Saudi Arabia. The main deposits are located in the Urals and in the Volga region, the Far East, the Caucasus, and the Timan-Pechora basin. However, the largest resource area is the West Siberian Oil Base. Let's consider it in more detail.

West Siberian oil base: geographic location

This resource area includes the territories of the Tomsk, Kurgan, Omsk, Tyumen and partially Novosibirsk, Chelyabinsk, Sverdlovsk regions, as well as the Altai and Krasnoyarsk Territories. The area of the basin is about 3.5 million square meters. Km. Currently, about 80% of the total recoverable resources in the country is provided by the West Siberian oil base. The geographical position of this region has a number of specific features. In particular, the region borders on the economically developed European territory of the country. First of all, with the Ural region. This neighborhood provided the basis for the economic development of the basin.

Characteristics of the West Siberian oil base

The reservoirs present in the basin refer to sediments of the Cretaceous and Jurassic periods. Most of the resources are located at a depth of 2-3 thousand meters. The oil extracted from the bowels is characterized by low paraffin content (up to 0.5%) and sulfur (up to 1.1%). In the raw materials there is a high percentage of gasoline fractions (40-60%), volatile substances. Tyumen region is a unique nucleus of the region. It provides more than 70% of the raw materials from the volume, which gives the West Siberian oil base. The extraction is carried out by a fountain or pump method. At the same time, the volume of recoverable reserves by the second method, calculated on the whole territory of the region, is an order of magnitude higher than the first.

Swimming Pools

What areas are known about the West Siberian oil base? The deposits located on this territory are considered one of the richest in the country. Among them:

• Samotlor.
• Ust-Balyk.
• Megion.
• Strezhevoy.
• Shaim.

Most of them are in the Tyumen region. It produces more than 219 million tons of oil.

Control structures

Characteristics of the West Siberian oil base consists of an analysis presented by enterprises engaged in the extraction and processing of reserves. The main management companies are also located in the Tyumen region. They include:

1. Yuganskneftegaz.
2. "Kogalymneftegaz."
3. Surgutneftegaz.
4. "Noyabrskneftegaz."
5. Nizhnevartovskneftegaz.

It should be said, however, that, according to experts, the amount of raw materials extracted in Nizhnevartovsk will be significantly reduced.

Economic development

As was said above, the West Siberian oil base is adjacent to the large Ural district. At the beginning of the development of the economy, this ensured the inflow of labor and equipment to undeveloped territories. Another stimulating factor, under the influence of which the West Siberian oil base was developed, are consumers of the eastern regions. The first industrial volumes of gas were received on the territory in 1953. Oil was discovered in 1960. Over the past few decades, the volume of recoverable reserves has increased significantly. So, in 1965 , oil production reached the first million tons. Currently, the main development is in the northern part of the basin. Today, about three hundred deposits are open.

Features of transportation

The main part of the formation of the flow of resources in the country today, along with the Volga region, is the West Siberian oil base. The way of transportation of raw materials, mainly rail. The extracted and processed reserves are transported to the Southern Urals, the Far East and the Central Asian regions. Transport by water is cheaper and more economical. But it is significantly hampered by the peculiarities of the location of the basins.

Pipelines

This is the most effective and second most popular route, which uses the West Siberian oil base. Transportation is carried out on a developed network that provides the supply of more than 95% of the total amount of resources. The average transfer range is about 2.3 thousand km. As a whole, the network of oil pipelines is represented in the form of two groups of objects unequal in their meaning and management conditions: interregional (regional) and long-distance transit. The first link is the factories and trades. Transit networks integrate oil flows, depersonalizing its specific owner. These pipelines connect a huge number of enterprises and export terminals. They form a technological unified network of regime and economic management. The West Siberian oil base has changed the direction of the main flows of raw materials. The most important functions of the subsequent development of the backbone network have now moved to it. From this area pipelines are sent to:

• Ust-Balyk.
• Mound.
• Samara.
• Almetyevsk.
• Nizhnevartovsk.
• Novopolotsk.
• Surgut.
• Tyumen.
• Omsk.
• Pavlodar and others.

The causes of industrial decline in the 1990s

Technical methods of extracting resources were improved during the whole development of the industry. But this process has slowed down significantly. This was due to the extensive way in which the oil industry was going in the Soviet period. At that time, the increase in the volume of extracted raw materials was achieved not by the automation and introduction of innovative methods into production, but by the discovery and development of new basins. Today, the problems of the West Siberian oil base are conditioned by the aging of technologies. To the reasons for the decline, specialists also include:

1. Significant production of large and highly-destructive areas of the exploited fund and components of the resource base.
2. A sharp deterioration in the condition of newly incremented stocks. In recent years, highly productive fields have hardly been opened.
3. Reduction of financing of geological exploration works. The degree of predictive development of resources in Western Siberia is 35%. By 30% since 1989, the financing of exploration has decreased. Approximately the same number of drilling volumes decreased.
4. An acute shortage of high-performance machinery and production units. The main part of the existing equipment is worn out by more than 50%, only 14% of the machines meet international standards. 70% of drilling rigs require an early replacement. After the collapse of the USSR, difficulties began to arise with the supply of equipment from the former republics.

It should also be noted that domestic prices for raw materials remain extremely low today. This significantly complicates the self-financing of extractive enterprises. The lack of environmentally friendly and highly efficient equipment generates environmental pollution. Significant financial and material resources are involved in addressing this problem . At the same time, they could participate in the expansion of the industrial sector.

Tasks

Prospects of the West Siberian oil base, as well as of other large resource areas of the country, the government connects not with additional state investment, but with the consistent development of the market. Enterprises engaged in the industry need to provide themselves with funds. The role of the Government will be to create the necessary economic conditions. In this direction, certain steps have already been taken. For example, assignments for state-owned enterprises have been reduced to 20%. The remaining 80% of the enterprise can sell independently. Restrictions are set only for the export of raw materials. In addition, the control of the level of domestic prices is almost completely stopped.

Stockization and privatization

These measures are of top priority today in the development of the industry. In the course of corporatization in the organizational forms of enterprises, qualitative changes occur. State companies that produce and transport oil, refining and supplying, are transformed into open type joint stock companies. In the state property, 38% of shares are concentrated. Commercial management is carried out by a specially established enterprise Rosneft. State packages of state stock from 240 JSCs are passed to him. As part of Rosneft, there are also a variety of banks, exchanges, associations and other companies. As for transportation, special companies have also been formed to manage such enterprises. They are Transnefteprodukt and Transneft. 51% of securities are transferred to them.

State of the raw material base

The West Siberian oil base, like other large resource areas, includes both explored and unexplored reserves. In the course of geological surveys, a structural analysis of the deposits is carried out. In the near future, it is planned to open several thousand deposits. However, today the introduction of modern methods and technologies is hampered by high capital intensity and operational costs for use in comparison with traditional ones. In this regard, the Ministry of Fuel and Energy is developing proposals on the adoption of a number of measures at the legislative level. They should be aimed at stimulating the use of innovative technologies and methods to increase the oil output of reservoirs. These measures should contribute to improving the financing of experimental and design and research work on the creation of new technological means, the active development of the material and technical base.

Forecasts

Expected production volumes in Western Siberia by 2020 should be 290-315 million tons per year. At the same time, the overall figures for the country should reach 520-600 million tons. The supply of raw materials is expected to be carried out to the countries of the Asia-Pacific region. They account for about 30% of global consumption. The largest consumers today are China and Japan. A program for 2005-2020 was developed. It provided for the construction of oil pipelines from Eastern Siberia to the Pacific Ocean. It was assumed that the project will be implemented in four stages. Oil transportation was planned at 80 million tons.

Conclusion

The development of the West Siberian oil base is complicated by three groups of problems. The first of these results from ineffective management, established in the Soviet era. The second group resulted from the liberalization of the economy, establishment of market relations in the industry. During the change of ownership types, power lost control over financial flows. This, in turn, led to massive non-payments, barter and other crises. The third group of problems concerns the worsening of the world market situation. This is due to overproduction of raw materials. All these problems together resulted in a sharp decline in production. The first break of this trend was observed in 1997. It was associated with a temporary increase in demand for raw materials in the world market and increased business activity of domestic enterprises. This, in turn, led to the influx of foreign investment in the industry. However, to date the situation on the world market remains extremely unstable. The supply significantly exceeds demand, which, accordingly, negatively affects prices. In this regard, countries that produce and process oil, as well as their exports, are searching for optimal ways to overcome the critical situation. Governments and ministries of different countries are in constant dialogue on the current situation. Currently, the issue of temporary decrease in production volumes is being actively discussed. According to the exporting countries, this will allow to balance prices in the market.