OREANDA-NEWS. The Prirazlomnoye field is the first — and, thus far, the only — field on the Russian Arctic Shelf at which oil production is being undertaken (commercial production having begun in December 2013). The first consignments of a new Russian “Arctic Oil (ARCO)” were despatched from the platform in April 2014. Total production in the field’s first year of commercial production reached 2.2 million barrels (approximately 300,000 tonnes).

The Prirazlomnoye oilfield is located in the Pechora Sea, 60 kilometres from the shore. Recoverable reserves are in the order of 70 million tonnes. The licence to develop the Prirazlomnoye field is held by Gazpromneft-Shelf LLC, a subsidiary of Gazprom Neft.

An ice-resistant offshore rig, “Prirazlomnaya”, was designed and constructed (in Russia), specifically for development of this field, capable of handling all technological operations — drilling, production, storage, and the preparation and offloading of the finished product. It is designed for use in the most extreme environmental and climatic conditions, meets the most stringent safety requirements, and can withstand maximum ice loads.

All well heads to be drilled at Prirazlomnaya will be located within the platform, the base of which then acts as a buffer between the well and the open sea. In addition to which, all of the wells are specially equipped to prevent the possibility of any uncontrolled emission of oil or gas. The offloading line for the pumping of oil to tankers is equipped with an emergency shut-down system, which is activated instantaneously.