Gazprom Neft finishes offshore 3D seismic operations at the Pechora Sea

Gazprom Neft subsidiary Gazpromneft-Sakhalin has completed offshore 3D seismic works at the Pechora Sea — at the Dolginskoye oil field and the Severo-Zapadny licence block. The completion of more than 5,000 square kilometres of investigations significantly exceeds the company’s obligations under the licences for these assets.

These seismic works have involved technologies and equipment designed or modified for use in the Arctic, and were undertaken by modern research vessels of the highest ice class — ICE-1A, fitted out with equipment unique to Russia and allowing detailed and high-quality seismic data to be secured.

The vessels involved meet the highest international standards in environmental and industrial safety, being equipped with a deck-heating system, steps, handrails, and mountings and fixings for inflatable lifeboats, further improving workplace safety under freezing conditions. The marine and seismic teams working on these vessels comprised exclusively Russian personnel, having passed all necessary training and having extensive experience of working under the ice-bound conditions of the Arctic shelf.

The results obtained through these seismic works will remove any major subsurface uncertainties and allow Gazprom Neft’s subsequent geological prospecting programme at the Pechora Sea to be put in place.