Sweden's Lundin Petroleum, which holds several Russian assets, has commenced drilling of the Morskaya-1 well in the Lagansky block in the Caspian Sea, the company said in a statement according to Interfax.
The well's planned depth comes to two kilometers.
Lundin Petroleum plans to drill an additional three wells in 2008- 2009.
The company's owns 70% in the Lagansky exploration block in the Russian sector of the Caspian Sea.
Under Lundin's initial license agreement, the first well at the Lagansky block was to have been drilled in 2006. However, the shallow water in the drilling area dictated construction of a special drilling complex with a jackup-platform and a shallow draft vessel. The complex was completed by the end of 2006 but drilling was postponed due to the approach of ice.
In 2007 Russian subsurface resource agency Rosnedra ordered Lundin's license revoked. However, the Swedish company was able to retain the license after signing on Gazprom (RTS: GAZP) to the project, having offered the gas giant an option to acquire a controlling stake in the block.