Russian energy behemoth Gazprom Neft has contracted GSP Offshore’s jack-up GSP Jupiter to drill in the Pechora Sea offshore northern Russia this summer.
The rig will start operations on the Dolginskoye oil field in early June. The drilling location is in the south-eastern portion of the Russian sector of the Barents Sea.
Scope of work includes drilling, logging, completion, and testing of the North-Dolginskaya-3 well. GSP will, in addition, provide two of the four offshore support vessels required to assist the rig during drilling.
This will be GSP’s first experience of Arctic drilling. The Sonat class Jupiter was built in 1998 in Romania and is classed under ABS (American Bureau of Shipping).
At present, the rig is being mobilised to work offshore Tunisia on the Hammamet West-3 well in the Bargou exploration permit.
The Dolginskoye field was discovered in 1999 and is located 120km south of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago and 110km north of mainland Russia. Water depth is around 35-55m (115-180ft).
The area has been subject to more than 11,000 line km of 2D seismic and 1,600sq km of 3D seismic.
To date three exploratory wells have been drilled; two on the North-Dolghinskoye accumulation and the third on South-Dolghinskoye.
