Offshore staff

KHABAROVSK, Russia - Following installation of ancillary equipment and a facility systems readiness test, operator Gazprom will use the jackup rig Kolskaya to start drilling offshore Western Kamchatka. The rig has sailed from Murmansk to Magadan port in eastern Russia.

Unlike the onshore Kamtchatka peninsula, the Western Kamchatka shelf contains large gas resources.

In June 2009 the Russian Federation government awarded Gazprom a subsurface license for the Zapadno-Kamchatsky block in the Sea of Okhotsk. Between 2009 and 2010 seismic survey was performed in the area, in readiness for the forthcoming drilling campaign.

In the same region, preparations continue for the Kirinskoye gas and condensate field pre-development offshore Sakhalin Island. Delivery of equipment for the onshore processing facility (OPF) is progressing as scheduled, and preparation of the construction sites has started. Around 100 km (62 mi) of the 139 km (86 mi) of pipes required to construct a gas pipeline from the OPF to Sakhalin have been delivered.

Gazprom estimates Kirinskoye’s gas reserves at 137 bcm (4.8 tcf). This will be the first project anywhere in Russia to produce gas via a subsea production complex. Gazprom plans to drill two development wells on the field in 2011.

08/05/2011