OREANDA-NEWS. 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.