OREANDA-NEWS. Today, LUKOIL began transporting the topside of the central processing platform (CPP) from Astrakhan to the Russian sector of the Caspian Sea, where construction of field facilities is underway at Vladimir Filanovsky field.

The CPP is designed for the processing and platform-to-shore transportation of oil and associated gas.

Based on current weather conditions, within a few days the CPP topside is expected to be assembled on the bearing units that were fixed to the sea bottom in 2013.

Also assembled there last year were the bearing units for the ice-resistant stationary platform and for the platform of the living quarters module and the riser block.

Currently, the construction of the topsides and catwalk bridges for these structures is near completion.

The topsides of all the four platforms and the catwalk bridges between them are to be fully assembled during this summer and autumn. Production at the field is scheduled to begin in the end of 2015 or early in 2016.