The Russian oil and gas company Lukoil has taken the final investment decision (FID) on the Rakushechnoye offshore field project in the Russian section of the Caspian Sea. Rakushechnoye will be connected to the neighbouring Vladimir Filanovsky field via subsea interfield pipelines and cable lines and its commercial production is scheduled to start in 2023. The asset's production plateau is estimated at 1.2 Mt/year and the output will be shipped through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) pipeline.
The neighbouring Vladimir Filanovsky offshore field was put into operation in 2016 and its initial recoverable reserves amount to 129 Mt of oil and 30 bcm of gas. The field, considered to be one of the largest post-Soviet discovery in Russia, will undergo a three-phase development pattern. The Phase 1 facilities were commissioned in 2016 and once the Phase 2 is completed, the field is expected to reach an oil production level of 6 Mt/year.
The CPC pipeline was expanded in October 2017 and is now be able to pump 67 Mt/year (about 1.35 mb/d) from the previous capacity of 35 Mt/year. In 2015, more than 43 Mt of crude oil were pumped through the CPC, which is the primary route for crude oil exports from the Caspian region: it transports over two thirds of all Kazakhstan export crude, as well as crude from several Russian oil fields.