GSP Saturn has arrived for exploration drilling at the Gazpromneft Sakhalin-operated Dolginskoye field, located in the Arctic shelf of the Pechora Sea.
The Gazprom Neft subsidiary announced 21 January its plans to drill an exploration well and take core samples at the field, located 75km off Russia, during its ice-free months to survey geological structures and prepare it for full-scale development. Located in water depth of about 40m, the well will be 3500m deep.
Ice Class B vessels transported the GSP Saturn from The Netherlands to Dolginskoye, located 120km south of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago. The field, discovered in 1999, is currently estimated by Gazprom Neft to have more than 200 million tonnes oe recoverable. This will be the third exploration well drilled in the field.
In April, the jackup was inspected by the American Bureau of Shipping, and was authorized by Lloyd’s Register Drilling Integrity Services to drill on the Arctic Shelf in May, Gazpromneft Sakhalin announced. Leased by Gazpromneft Sakhalin from by Romania's Grup Servicii Petroliere (GSP) in 2013, it was built in 1988 but has “undergone cutting-edge refurbishment,” according to Gazpromneft Sakhalin. GSP lists the derrick as having a static hook load capacity of 1000kips and 3000hp drawworks.
“Since 2009, the GSP Saturn jackup drilling rig has had a permit from the Netherlands and Denmark for the conduct of drilling operations on the shelf of the North Sea,” the Russian company said, noting that in 2013, it operated in the North Sea under Germany’s Wintershall.
The field development project documentation, including oil spill prevention and response plans and anenvironmental sensitivity map, was approved following “public consultations” held in Naryan-Mar during December 2013, Gazprom Neft announced 21 January 2013.
Read more:
Gazprom makes Arctic advances (article from Offshore Engineer magazine)
Gazprom ships first Arctic crude
Image: GSP Saturn/Gazprom Neft.
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