Exxon Neftegas finalizes offshore platform’s GBS for Arkutun-Dagi field
Exxon Neftegas Ltd., an operator of the project "Sakhalin-2" has completed the construction of gravity-based structure of offshore production platform for the Arkutun-Dagi field, Interfax reports.
The structure towing will begin next week. The facility is expected to be delivered in 12-14 days and installed on the northeast coast of the island, some 25 km off the coast.
The upper part of the platform, now under construction at a South Korea shipyard, will be installed on the GBS in 2013. Drilling of the first wells is scheduled for late 2013 - early 2014. So, Exxon Neftegas may produce first oil at Arkutun-Dagi in 2014.
The platform project involves drilling of up to 45 wells. The maximum oil production volume could be 4.5 million tons.
According to Glenn Waller, head of ExxonMobil Russia, the peak production of 4.5 million tons at Arkutun-Dagi fields can be reached about 2017.
Crude oil produced on Berkut offshore drilling rig will be supplied by pipeline to the already functioning onshore facility Chayvo. The main part of the pipeline has been completed.
The 160,000mt gravity base of the offshore drilling rig Berkut (Golden Eagle) has been built and is designed for year-round operation. The structure is able to withstand 9-point earthquakes, low temperatures - down to minus 44 Cº, sea swells up to 18 m and ice thickness of about two meters. Once the upper structure is installed on the gravity-base, the offshore drilling rig will become one of the largest in the world.
The Sakhalin-1 Project, operated by Exxon Neftegas Limited, is one of the largest single international direct investments in Russia and an excellent example of how advanced technologies are being applied to meet the challenges of the world’s growing energy demand. Over its years of production operations, the multi-billion dollar project has exhibited exemplary operational, environmental, and safety performance, and has provided significant benefits to Russia and its people. Sakhalin-1 is comprised of Russian, Japanese, Indian and American participants and is operated by Exxon Neftegas Limited, a subsidiary of ExxonMobil — the world’s largest non-governmental oil and gas company. Sakhalin-1 includes three oil and gas fields — Chayvo, Odoptu, and Arkutun Dagi — located off the northeast coast of Sakhalin Island in the Russian Far East.