Gazprom: Arctic platforms must be completed in 2010
The Sevmash and Zvezdochka shipyards in Severodvinsk must complete the construction of the Prirazlomnaya platform and the Arkticheskaya jack-up rig in 2010, Gazprom Deputy Aleksandr Ananenkov stressed during his visit to the yards on Friday.
Mr. Ananenkov visited the two Severodvinsk yards together with 49-person delegation from Gazprom and its subsidiaries, a press release from Sevmash reads. On top of the agenda was the construction of the Prirazlomnaya ice-class platform, destined for the Prirazlomnoe oil field in the Pechora Sea, and the Arkticheskaya jack-up rig. The two oil and gas installations have become long-dragged construction projects, both long overdue their original time schedules.
During the visit, the yard administrations were clearly told that both construction projects must be completed in the course of 2010, a press release from Gazprom reads. The platform will then be sent to Murmansk for ballasting.
“We will do our utmost to complete this complicated task on schedule”, General Director Nikolai Kalistratov told the Gazprom representatives.
While the Prirazlomnaya platform is under construction at Sevmash, the Arkticheskaya rig is constructed by Zvezdochka. The latter is to become a central part of Gazprom’s exploration for addition hydrocarbon resources in the Russian Arctic.
In his meeting with the shipyard administrations, Mr. Ananenkov highlighted the role of both Sevmash and Zvezdochka in the ambitious federal program for shelf development. He maintained that the potential of the Russian yards will be utilized to the maximum extent in the development of offshore technology and vessel construction.
By year 2030, Russia will need more than ten drilling rigs and platforms, more than 60 various oil and gas vessels, as well as several tens of LNG tankers, Ananenkov confirmed.
