Gazprom’s new Arctic jack-up rig to Murmansk
The jack-up rig “Arkticheskaya” has completed sea trials and will be tugged to Murmansk for completion in November. This is the first oil rig to be built at the naval shipyard Zvezdochka.
The platform has been under construction at Zvezdochka shipyard in Severodvinsk since the early 1990s. Problems with financing led to a halt in the project, but in 2006 construction was speeded up, and the rig has now finished 30 days of sea trials in the White Sea, ITAR-TASS reports.
On November 10 the rig will be tugged to Shipyard No. 35 in Murmansk, where final work on the rig will be done. This is the same yard that completed the Prirazlomnoye oil platform, which was transported to its designated place in the Pechora Sea in August.
“Arkticheskaya” is built for Gazprom and is designed for operations in Arctic waters and will be used primarily in the Pechora Sea. It has an 88 meter long and 66 meter wide platform and can house 90 workers. Maximum drilling depths are 6500 meters.