OREANDA-NEWS. Total cumulative oil production at the Novoportovskoye field has now reached five million tonnes, the landmark tonne of crude being shipped by Gazprom Neft subsidiary Gazpromneft-Yamal on the Shturman Albanov tanker. Year-round oil transportation from the Novoportovskoye field is made possible via the Arctic Gates transhipment terminal, the only such terminal in the world located in the freshwaters beyond the Arctic Circle.

One hundred and 96 tankers have been despatched since oil transportation from the Novoportovskoye field first started via the Northern Sea Route, with oil deliveries via the Arctic Gates terminal since May 2016 now standing at four million tonnes. Oil transportation is undertaken by multifunctional ice-breaking vessels, as well as Arc7 ice-class tankers, designed and built specifically for operations in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Ob.

The possibility of despatching oil from the Novoportovskoye field via the Northern Sea Route was confirmed by Gazprom Neft in spring 2011, following a pilot voyage by Vaigach nuclear ice-breaker from the port of Sabetta (in the north-east of the Yamal peninsula) to Cape Kamenny. The first summer shipment of oil from the Novoportovskoye field by tanker took place in August 2014, with the first winter shipment by sea taking place in February 2015. The Arctic Gates oil transhipment terminal was commissioned on 25 May 2016, able to ship up to 8.5 million tonnes of crude per year.