Dolginskoye field development project wins approval in public consultations

abarrelfull wrote on 31 Jan 2014 12:08
Tags: c-asia gazpromneft russia upstream

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Project documentation for drilling in 2014 of an exploration well at the Dolginskoye field on the shelf of the Pechora Sea has been approved following public consultations, which were held in December 2013 in the town of Naryan-Mar (Nenets Autonomous District). The approved documents include a prevention and response plan for oil spills as well as an environmental impact assessment. The project documentation has been supplemented by an environmental sensitivity map of the region, prepared on the basis of monitoring, which was carried out at the license block in 2013.

The participants of the public consultations included representatives of the Nenets Autonomous District and Zapolyarny District administrations, and also of the project’s general designer (OOO NPK Nefteburgas), the developer of the oil spill prevention plan and environmental impact assessment (OOO FREKOM) and representatives of the Nenets State Nature Reserve. The project operator is Gazpromneft-Sakhalin (a subsidiary of Gazprom Neft).

The exploration well at the Dolginskoye field will be drilled using the GSP Saturn jack-up unit, which was chartered from its owner, the Rumanian company Grup Servicii Petroliere S.A. (GSP), at the end of 2013. GSP Saturn underwent a full modernization in 2009, including installation of the latest drilling and marine equipment, and has also been specially prepared to withstand wind, waves and low temperatures in far northern latitudes. A number of specialized technical audits have confirmed that Saturn is a high-tech unit with specifications that make it suitable for use on the Russian Arctic shelf during ice-free months.

The rig is equipped with a special unit to protect marine life (a filter device that prevents harm to marine organisms during transport and operation of the platform). An automatic verticality control system (rotary steerable system) will be used during drilling to optimize drilling time and maximally reduce environmental disturbance. Use of LWD (lodging-while-drilling) sensors will enable continuous, real-time control during operation.

REFERENCE

Gazpromneft Sakhalin LLC is a subsidiary of Gazprom Neft and has experience implementing projects on the Russian continental shelf. In autumn 2012, JSC Gazprom and Gazpromneft Sakhalin made a contract for geological exploration, industrial development and operation of the Dolginskoye oil field on the shelf of the Pechora Sea.

The Dolginskoye oil field, discovered in 1999, is located in the central part of the Pechora Sea, 120 km south of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago and 110 km north of the Eurasian mainland. Sea depth in the area is 35-55 meters. More than 11,000 linear km of 2-D seismic and 1600 square km of 3-D seismic surveys have been carried out at the field. Three exploration wells have been completed (two in the northern and one in the southern part of the field). One more exploration well is planned to be drilled in the northern part of the field in 2014. Recoverable reserves are currently estimated in excess of 200 million tons of oil equivalent.

• Dolginskoye field development project wins approval in public consultations

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