Gazprom Orders Arctic Platform
Russia's Gazprom has ordered an ice-resistant, stationary platform for the Kamennomysskoye-more field in the Gulf of Ob – one of a number of upcoming Arctic gas projects.
The state-owned United Shipbuilding Corp (USC) said on June 4 that its Sevmash and Zvezdochka shipyards had received the order for the rig from Gazprom. The platform will be 135 metres in length and 69 metres in width and its base will be wedge-shaped to make it resistant to ice.
Kamennomysskoye-more is estimated to hold 550bn m3 of gas, and is expected to be the first gas field on Russia's Arctic shelf to enter production. In an investor presentation in February, Gazprom said the field was due to start up by 2025 and flow 14.5bn m3/yr at full capacity.
The field lies very near the shore, in waters only 11-17 metres deep, and would be able to share infrastructure with the coastal Kamennomysskoye field, driving down development costs.
In other news, Gazprom has made its largest ever purchase of large diameter pipes, for use at Power of Siberia and other major projects, Interfax reported on June 8. The company has placed an order for 1.28mn tonnes of pipes in 2021 and 2022, worth rubles 100bn ($1.46bn), according to the news agency. Gazprom is preparing to construct a new section of Power of Siberia that will enable the Kovyktinskoye field to flow its gas to China, supplementing supply from the Chayandinskoye field.