Yesterday night, the Arkticheskaya jack-up offshore drilling rig escorted by tugs was moored at Murmansk port’s berth number 35. The drilling unit constructed at Zvezdochka Shipyard has undergone all acceptance trials during the transition. The Arkticheskaya rig will be handed over to the Customer, LLC Gazflot in December 2011, the shipbuilder’s Murmansk branch said Monday.
Jack-up drilling rig 6500/100 "Arkticheskaya" of Project 15402M (designed by Sevastopol-based SCDB Coral) is intended for drilling exploratory oil / gas wells on the shelf of the Arctic and elsewhere. The Arkticheskaya was laid down in December 1995 with delivery scheduled for 1998. The drilling unit was being built at two Severodvinsk-based yards, "Zvezdochka" and "Sevmash". In 1999, the construction of jack-up rig was frozen due to lack of funding. In October 2003, the customer implemented an option for refitting the unit to be capable of drilling seabed at depths of 100 meters.
JSC Center for Ship Repair Zvezdochka (Arkhangelsk region, Severodvinsk) is a shipbuilding firm specializing in shipbuilding and ship repair, the construction of drilling platforms, the production of propellers for various purposes. The company is a subsidiary of United Shipbuilding Corporation.
LLC Gazflot is a 100% owned subsidiary of Russian gas monopoly Gazprom. The company was created to implement projects in the field of exploration and development of oil and gas deposits on the continental shelf of the Russian Federation.