Rosneft has started drilling the Tsentraino-Olginskaya-1 well in the Khatangsky license area on the Russian Arctic shelf. It is the first well drilled under the Laptev Sea, where water depth reaches 32 m.
The rig is on the shore of Khatanga Bay in the northern part of the Krasnoyarsk region.
Rosneft said geological exploration and 21 km of seismic studies revealed 114 oil and gas-bearing structures that were considered “promising.” Preliminary estimates suggest that the Laptev Sea’s potential geological resources could reach 9.5 billion tons of oil equivalent.
During summer navigation in 2016, more than 8,000 tons of cargo were delivered from the seaport of Arkhangelsk to the drilling site. Cargo included the drilling rig, other equipment and materials for drilling, and accommodation modules. A year-round research based is near the drilling site.
The drilling is performed by RN-Burenie, Rosneft’s in-house service company.
Separately, PJSC Lukoil began drilling a well in the Vostochno-Taymyrsky license area, also in Krasnoyarsk. Lukoil said No. 1P is a vertical six-string well that will tap Lower Cambrian strata in a drilling effort expected to last a year.
Lukoil won the subsoil use rights for the license area in August 2015, and has completed a 2D seismic survey of 2,501 km that began in early 2016.
More than 20,000 tons of material and equipment required for drilling were delivered to the drill site via the Northern Sea route.
