Gazprom to resume drilling on Kamchatka shelf in 2014
MOSCOW. Aug 23 (Interfax) - Gazprom has published its request for proposals to supply a jackup drilling rig with crew to drill an exploration well at Zapadno-Kamchatsky (initial area No. 1).
The well is to be drilled to a depth of 2,397-3,000 meters, Gazprom Geologorazvedka said in materials.
The drilling is to begin no earlier than May 2014 and no later than June 2014 and be completed in 50 days.
Proposals will be accepted until September 4. The results will be announced on September 24.
Gazprom carried out drilling at the initial area of Zapadno-Kamchatsky in 2011 using the Kolskaya jackup rig owned by Arcticmorneftegazrazvedka (AMNGR).
AMNGR installed the rig at the drilling site on August 31, 2011 and began drilling an exploration well on September 3. However, the drilling project was rejected by the state's environmental expert review, under a September 7 order from Rosprirodnadzor concerning the conclusions of the expert commission.
The Zapadno-Kamchatsky license section is located in the Sea of Okhotsk on the western shelf of the Kamchatka Peninsula. The section covers 62,440 square kilometers. Exploration was previously carried out by Rosneft . However, the oil giant's license to the section expired on August 1, 2008. Rosneft had drilled just 400 meters of well in the section, a Gazprom representative said. The license was subsequently transferred to Gazprom.