Gazprom Nedra Developed an Advanced Boreholes Construction Project on the Arctic Shelf
Vsevolod Cherepanov, General Director of Gazprom Nedra LLC, made a presentation at the 5th Jubilee International Arctic Summit “The Arctic and Offshore Projects: Prospects, Innovation and Regional Development” (May 26–28, 2021, St. Petersburg).
Vsevolod Cherepanov, General Director of Gazprom Nedra LLC, made a presentation at the 5th Jubilee International Arctic Summit “The Arctic and Offshore Projects: Prospects, Innovation and Regional Development”.
Talking about the geological exploration work carried out by the company on the Russian Shelf, Vsevolod Cherepanov said that Gazprom Nedra’s initiative on a new boreholes construction project on the Arctic Shelf was approved in 2020. It provides for the use of one offshore drilling rig for the construction of two boreholes in two water areas in one field season. According to this plan, one prospecting or exploration borehole is being built on the Barents Sea Shelf in open water from April to June. Upon completion of the work, when the Kara Strait (the strait between the islands of Vaygach and Novaya Zemlya) opens and the water area is cleared of ice, the drilling rig is relocated, and from July to November it is constructing a borehole in the licenced areas of the Kara Sea.
According to the head of Gazprom Nedra LLC, this approach, in addition to the tasks associated with preparing the fields for development and increasing the resource base, will reduce the cost of borehole construction due to the synergistic effect that will be provided by the operation of one rig in two water areas. At the same time, all the Company's activities on the shelf are carried out subject to compliance with the requirements of process and environmental safety.
Vsevolod Cherepanov stressed that the development of the Russian continental shelf is a strategic state task, and PJSC Gazprom is the leader in terms of the volume and efficiency of exploration in the Arctic. Gazprom Nedra LLC is the operator of all geological exploration works at Gazprom's licence areas located onshore and offshore in the Kara, Barents and Okhotsk Seas.
According to the General Director of Gazprom Nedra LLC, as a result of the construction of exploration boreholes on the Kara Sea Shelf, three new fields were discovered over the past four years, including one unique in terms of natural gas reserves — the V. A. Dinkov Field. The increase in industrial grade reserves for these three fields amounted to more than 700 billion cubic meters of gas. In total, the increase in C1 gas reserves as a result of the construction of boreholes in the Kara Sea amounted to 1.6 trillion cubic meters.
In the subsoil areas on the Barents Sea Shelf, the Company carried out three-dimensional seismic surveys for three years in a volume exceeding the licence obligations by a third, which made it possible to clarify the geological structure of fields and promising structures, preparing the areas for deep drilling.
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Gazprom Nedra LLC is a 100 % subsidiary company of PAO Gazprom and ranks among the major Russian multi-business oil and gas service companies. In 2019 Company production potential was expanded due to integration of Gazprom Georesurs LLC and Gazprom Geologorazvedka LLC assets.
The Company carries out a complete centrally managed cycle of exploration works in the RF and provides its clients with a wide range of unique geophysical and geoengineering services.
Gazprom Nedra LLC is the main source of Gazprom Group geophysical data in the sphere of raw materials production, reduction of operational expenses and geophysical activities efficiency evaluation, calculation of gas deposit and storage reserves, and environmental safety assurance.
Company subdivisions are located in all gas producing regions of Russia. Its staff totals over 4,500 people. Company administration offices are located in Moscow and Tyumen. The Company uses a based on the GOST ISO 9001 standard, a health and safety management system in accordance with ISO45001 and an environmental management system which meets the requirements of the international standard ISO 14001:2015 (GOST R ISO 14001).