ENL regards Nakhodka as base to build offshore platform
The American Exxon Neftegaz Ltd (ENL) Company, the operator of the Sakhalin-1 shelf oil and gas project, regards the Far Eastern city of Nakhodka as a base to build the foundation of yet another offshore oil producing platform, Itar-Tass reports.
With this end in view, the ENL and the Nakhodka city administration have signed a protocol on the holding of public consultations on the construction of the new facility for the Sakhalin shelf. The foundation of the offshore platform may be laid down in the dry dock of Port Vostochny (east) where two similar installations have already been built for the Sakhalin-2 project.
A press release issued by the Nakhodka city council on Wednesday says that the ENL intends to repair the dry dock within a period from 2009 to 2011 and make on its basis the oil producing platform foundation, which will be subsequently installed at the Arkutun-Dagi (northeastern shelf of Sakhalin Island) offshore field.
Michael Barker, ENL director for environmental protection, said during the meeting in Nakhodka that at the initial stage about 20 territories had been under consideration as sites for building the platform foundation. The current potential contenders for the implementation of the project are Nakhodka and the Sakhalin-based port of Kholmsk.
It is expected that a final decision to select a site will be made soon. However, on Tuesday, Sakhalin Region Governor Alexander Khoroshavin was told that the Kholmsk option for the construction of the platform foundation is inadvisable, for in that case Russia would incur losses amounting to $200 million in revenue to budgets at various levels.
At present the ENL conducts the production oil on the Sakhalin shelf by means of one offshore platform Orlan (eagle) and the on-shore installation Yastreb (hawk) of the same capacity. The ENL produced about 12 million tonnes of hydrocarbon fuel at the Chaivo field in 2007. The ENL is now planning to install yet another oil producing platform on the shelf. This work is to be completed in 2013.