Gazprom to build underwater drilling vessels
Energy major Gazprom intends to construct a fleet of underwater drilling vessels to be used on the Russian Arctic shelf, a company representative said this week.
The vessels, which are to be developed jointly with the company Lazurit, will enable the company to conduct drilling operations in areas covered by ice, Mr. Vladimir Bovk, Head of Gazproms department for offshore development, said at an oil and gas conference. Mr. Bovk admitted that the development of the vessels sounds rather fantastic, but at the same time stressed that the technical aspect is not a problem, Rosbaltnord.ru reports with reference to Neftegaz.ru. After all, no other way for the development of the shelf hydrocarbons has been developed, he said. Russia has several huge fields located in Arctic waters, among them in the ice-covered Kara Sea.
