Integrated Approach to Develop Mega-Projects: Challenges and Risk Strategies

Abstract

The ambition of this paper is to provide description of integrated approach that was successfully applied to develop mega-projects in Russia: from development of Yamal, the biggest gas provience in Russia and in the world with several unique super mega-fields located in the area, to the recent ahead-of-time Arctic development in Russia. Russian oil and gas sector is characterized by high concentration of mega, super-giant and giant fields in two relatively small areas – Yamalo-Nenetskiy District as a gas provience and Khanty-Mansiysk District as an oil provience, which are very remote from the mainland with lack of infrastructure at the time when mega-projects were just a plan and hazardous climate conditions. Most of the territory of the Yamalo-Nenetskiy district is located above the Polar Circle that makes its development so challenging. The aim was not only to develop these oil and gas mega-projects and its infrastructure but to create and maintain high standard of living for local communities and indigenous nationalities. And this goal was successfully achieved by using special integrated approach. This special integrated approach combines territorial, industrial and mega-project joint planning and performing along with cost management of these projects including special agreements between regions and companies, trend that is very special still to the international energy market and this practice was followed by a number of international energy majors already. For the latest and even the most complicated mega-project now, Russian Arctic development, new updated integrated approach was elaborated that combines so called support zones of development, infrastructure development and emerging technologies development. New legislative framework and fiscal incentives along with special investment contracts were introduced to booster this project development and to attract investments. All the zones of development are considered as one project with common planning, financing, cost management and all the zone’s projects implementation. Yamalo-Nenetskiy District (YANAO) contributes 18% to the world’s gas proved reserves and 65% to the Russia’s total gas reserves. As for the beginning of 2018, 236 fields of hydrocarbons were discovered in YANAO, from them 89 fields are under development now and 147 fields are under exploration works. Main area of gas production in YANAO is in Nadym-Pur-Taz oil and gas provience where world’s biggest concentration of super giant mega fields are located – Medvejie field, Urengoy field and Yamburg field. These fields were put into operation in 1970s-1980s and mainly in the declining production level now. Since the beginning of production in Yamalo-Nenetskiy District, totally 12% of initial gas reserves, 5% of oil and 2% of condencate were extracted. To maintain production level and to secure export contracts, new centers of production are under development now. Yamal’s peninsula development started in 2012 with the launch of the giant Bovanenkovo field.