The Prirazlomnaya platform is located in the Pechora Sea. Photo: Gazprom-Neft.ru

Arctic offshore oil more than doubled

Russia’s Gazprom increased oil production at its Prirazlomnaya platform 2.5 times last year.
February 16, 2016

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The platform in the Pechora Sea in 2015 produced more than 800,000 tons of oil. The total amount shipped from the field since start of production in December 2013 is 1.1 million tons, Gazprom Neft Shelf’s press service reports.

Two production wells and one injection well are currently in production at Prirazlomnaya.

According to General Director of Gazprom Neft Shelf, the company plans to double production at the field in 2016.

Prirazlomnoye is the world’s first project involving oil extraction on the Arctic shelf using a stationary platform. Production started in December 2013, and the first shipment of oil left in April 2014. 

Field reserves are estimated to about 72 million tons of oil and peak production of five million tons is planned for about 2020. 

The field platform received the world’s attention in September 2013, when two journalists and 28 activists from Greenpeace, later dubbed “the Arctic 30”, were arrested and imprisoned in Murmansk for over two months, following a protest against Arctic drilling.

Gazprom Neft uses two specially designed ice-breaking tankers to transport the oil from the Arctic – “Kirill Lavrov” and “Mikhail Ulyanov”.

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According to Gazprom Neft, oil spill preparedness around the Prirazlomnaya is of top standard. It includes emergency stand-by duty by two multi-functional icebreakers and a vessel with equipment for gathering up oil spills.

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