Gazprom discusses year-round drilling in Arctic with Maersk
MOSCOW. March 1 (Interfax) - Gazprom Deputy CEO Alexander Ananenkov discussed year-round drilling at fields located in Russia's Arctic seas with A.P. Moller-Maersk Vice President Klaus Rud Sejling in Moscow on Tuesday.
They proposed formation of a bilateral expert group whose task would be to work up specific proposals for cooperation in that area.
Their partnership would see to it that Russian shipyards engage in building the vessels o be used in the drilling operations.
A.P. Moller-Maersk Group has 17 oil tankers and eight LNG carriers. It also has four drilling platforms and 28 floating drilling rigs.
About 70% of Russia's Arctic shelf is icebound. The waters where some fields are located, such as Rusanovskoye and Leningradskoye, are free of ice for just one month a year. One option Gazprom is considering is to drill from under the ice, using submarines.
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