Gazpromneft Sakhalin announces Arctic research expedition

14 July 2014

Gazpromneft Sakhalin, operator ofthe Dolginskoye oilfield development (located onthe continental shelf ofthe Pechora Sea) has joined forces with the Nenetsk State Nature Reserve and the Zoological Institute ofthe Russian Academy ofSciences toundertake anecological research expedition investigating the maritime ecosystems ofthe Arctic.

Summertime atthe Pechora Sea

The expedition team, led byAlexei Sukhotin, head ofthe Zoological Institute’s White Sea Research Station and including zoologists, hydro-biologists and other specialists from the Zoological Institute and the Academy ofSciences’ Northern Urals Ecological Institute, will bebased for three weeks onthe Professor Vladimir Kuznetsov research vessel, tobemoored near tothe Matveev, Golets, Dolgiy and Greater and Lesser Zelenetz islands, located inaspecially protected area within the Nenets State Nature Reserve.

The long-term objective ofthe project isthe examination ofthe marine environment ofthe shores ofthe islands ofthe Pechora Sea (within the Nenets State Nature Reserve); the mapping and long-term monitoring ofdeveloping deep-sea ecosystems; and the evaluation ofpotential natural and man-made impacts onthese. Specific research onaquatic and sub-sea environments isplanned for 2014, during which (inaddition tohydrological measurements), plankton, parasitic and other samples will betaken. The results ofthis research (part ofawider research programme expected torun over three years) will allow Gazpromneft Sakhalin toensure the better tracking ofthe ecological status ofthe Pechora Sea, where the company isinvolved indeveloping the Dolginskoye oilfield.

Geological surveying ofthe field (which in2014 saw the drilling ofafourth exploration well) will beundertaken instrict adherence toenvironmental protection standards, and consistent with the principle ofzero emissions. This means that the project precludes the possibility ofindustrial and household wastes, oils, orother by-products ofindustrial activity being discharged into the sea. Cutting-edge technologies are being utilised inwell drilling, including systems utilising water-based drilling fluids, recognised asbeing environmentally safe and proven tobeeffective inextraction under similar geological conditions.

Inaddition tothis Gazpromneft Sakhalin isalso, aspart ofits research programme, working toreplenish the biological resources ofthe Arctic: early July 2014, inparticular, saw the release of15,000 baby salmon trout into the Onega river, intended tosupport the equilibrium ofthe ecosystem where the river flows into the White Sea. Gazpromneft Sakhalin’s total investment inthis fish-breeding programme isbased onrecommendations from the Knipovich Polar Research Institute ofMarine Fisheries and Oceanography (PINRO) and endorsed bythe Federal Agency for Fisheries.

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REFERENCE

The Dolginskoye oilfield islocated inthe central part ofthe Pechora Sea, 120 kilometres south ofthe Novaya Zemlya archipelago and 110 kilometres north ofthe mainland coast. The field, discovered in1999, lies under seawater extending tosome 35–55 metres indepth. 2Dseismic surveys ofmore than 11,000 kilometres have been undertaken atthe field, aswell as3Dseismic surveys covering anarea of1,600kilometres. Three exploration wells have been drilled— two inthe north and one inthe south ofthe Dolginskoye field. Afourth exploration well will betested in2014— North Dolginskoye No.3. Recoverable reserves atthe Dolginskoye field are currently estimated tobeinexcess of200 million tons ofoil equivalent (mtoe).