Anyone catching the New Year romcom, Christmas Tree 5, from December 22, will be able to see Gazprom Neft’s Prirazlomnaya offshore rig — producing the first ever oil from Russia’s Arctic Shelf — on widescreen: this location, in the Pechora Sea, 60 kilometres from the shore, being the scene for one of the film’s plotlines.
Directed by Alexander Kott, the film’s plot centres around a love story, unfolding in the Arctic Circle, on New Year’s Eve. Konstantin, played by Kirill Pletnev, a safety engineer on the Prirazlomnaya rig, tries to make the first move towards Zhenya (Ekaterina Shpitsa), the girl he’s in love with. But it turns out, while he’s got instructions for every other area of his life, when it comes to love there’s no manual on how to win someone’s heart.
The Prirazlomnaya rig — the only offshore platform in Russia on the Arctic Shelf — is making its debut on the silver screen, meaning everyone across the country can see the sort of work done by hundreds of people — every day, in punishing conditions, a long way from home — in achieving Russia’s unprecedented success in opening up the Arctic.
The most cutting-edge technologies in drilling for, producing, storing and transporting oil are being used on the Prirazlomnaya rig to guarantee the safety of workers and the environment. Gazprom Neft continues to intensify its experience on the Arctic Shelf, developing technologies no less complex or innovative than those used in space.
The Prirazlomnaya rig is not the only Gazprom Neft property appearing in Christmas Tree 5. A later scene centres around one of the company’s filling stations.
The Prirazlomnaya platform is the first — and, thus far, the only — project on the Russian Arctic Shelf at which oil production is being undertaken (commercial production having begun in December 2013). The first consignments of a new Russian “Arctic Oil (ARCO)” were despatched from the platform in April 2014. The licence to develop this field is held by Gazpromneft-Shelf LLC, a subsidiary of Gazprom Neft.
Initially discovered in 1989, the Prirazlomnoye oilfield is located in the Pechora Sea, 60 kilometres from the shore. Recoverable reserves are in the order of 70 million tonnes. The “Prirazlomnaya” ice-resistant offshore rig was designed specifically for development of this field, and is designed for use in the most extreme environmental and climatic conditions, as well as meeting the most stringent safety requirements and withstanding maximum ice loads.
All wells at the Prirazlomnoye field are located within the platform, the base of which then acts as a buffer between the well and the open sea — which can reach depths of up to 20 metres around the field. In addition to which, all wells are specially equipped to prevent the possibility of any uncontrolled emission of oil or gas. Oil storage at the platform involves “wet sump” methodology, preventing the ingress of oxygen into storage tanks, preventing the ingress of oxygen and the creation of potentially explosive conditions.
The offloading line for the pumping of oil to tankers is equipped with an emergency shut-down system, which is activated instantaneously. Emergency icebreaking vessels will be on permanent emergency standby around the platform, equipped with the latest oil-spill recovery equipment.
A “zero-emissions” system is in operation at the Prirazlomnaya rig, with drilling fluid, bit cuttings (“drilling sludge”) and other production waste all pumped into a special re-injection well.
