The rig, which has been under construction at the Zvezdochka yard in Severodvinsk for more than 15 years, has set course for the White Sea where it is to undergo testing. The rig, which is built for Gazprom, is designed for operations in Arctic waters and will be used primarily in the Pechora Sea. It has a 88 meter long and 66 meter wide platform and can house 90 workers. Maximum drilling depths are 6500 meters.
The “Arkticheskaya” will be undergoing testing in a 30-day period in the White Sea. Afterwards, the rig will return to Severodvinsk for final adjustments. It will subsequently be handed over to Gazprom, Regnum reports.
The rig is also expected in Murmansk for final testing in the course of November this year, the Murman TV station reports.
As previously reported, Gazprom has called on Zvezdochka to speed up the construction of the rig. When visiting the yard together with a 49 person delegation last year, Gazprom Deputy Aleksandr Ananenkov had the Arkticheskaya rig on top of his agenda. During the same visit, Ananenkov visited the neighboring Sevmash yard, where the oil platform Prirazlomnaya has been under construction.
Read also: Gazprom: Arctic platforms must be completed in 2010
The two oil and gas installations have become long-dragged construction projects, both long overdue their original time schedules.
As BarentsObserver recently reported, also the Prirazlomnaya platform is now getting ready for operations. The platform will be tugged to the Pechora Sea already in the course of August this year.
