Rosneft, Statoil spud joint well

Rosneft leader Igor Sechin confirms that drilling has started about 420 km off the coast of Magadan, the Russian far eastern city.

«We are happy to start drilling of this exploration well in the Sea of Okhotsk, a key part of our long-term cooperation with partner Statoil», Sechin says in a press release.

«Rosneft is today the only company in the country which proceeds with new shelf projects despite the extremely difficult external situation», he adds. According to the company, the drilling takes place one year ahead of schedule.

The drilling is conducted by the company China Oilfield Services Limited (COSL) and with the rig «Nanhai-9». 

The license area is located south of the Russian Arctic Zone in waters with depths less than 150 meters, the maximum depth allowed by the U.S.-EU sanctions against Russia. The operations are part of the comprehensive cooperation concluded by the two companies in 2012.

Statoil press spokesman Knut Rostad earlier underlined to the Barents Observer that «drilling will be conducted in shallow waters, less than 150 meter depths, and is consequently not in conflict with the sanctions».

He adds that the wells are located approximately on the same latitude as the North Sea and that there will be no ice in the area at the time of drilling.

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«Our top priority is to conduct a safe operation in line with Russian environmental regulations and the sanction regime», Rostad underlines.