How oil is extracted in the Arctic

The first oil in the world to be produced on the Arctic shelf on a fixed platform ...
60 km from the coast beyond the Arctic Circle in the Russian Arctic ...
Here, 7 months of the year, harsh winters, drifting ice and air temperature up to -48 ° С!
And in the summer there are waves up to 9 meters and storms ...

... but in 1989 one of the largest oil fields on the Arctic shelf, Prirazlomnoye, was discovered here. After more than 20 years, the technology has reached a level where this oil can be produced efficiently, safely and environmentally friendly on the world's first stationary Arctic oil platform, set to the bottom at a depth of 20 meters.

Yes, yes, this is the very platform that the Greenpeace trollers recently trolled, not least due to which many of us have an association with the fact that oil production in the Arctic means harming nature. In fact, Greenpeace trolling is mainly political in nature and is only very indirectly related to ecology and environmental protection.

Does the oil price fall? Why invest in such projects?

Even if a barrel of oil costs $ 10, Arctic oil production will still be profitable! 100% of this new Arco oil is supplied to Europe in Rotterdam; this oil is especially good for the production of oils and their by-products. The contracts are concluded for years to come, and the resource of the field is designed for 25 years. And this despite the fact that oil production is only reaching its design capacity!

Welcome to the world's first offshore ice-resistant stationary platform "Prirazlomnaya"!

Prirazlomnoye oil field was discovered in 1989. The field is located on the shelf of the Pechora Sea, 60 km north of the village of Varandey. The depth of the sea in the area of the deposit is 19-20 meters.

A well-developed coastal infrastructure has been created for the operational management of production and the delivery of shift personnel and cargo to Prirazlomnaya. It includes a supply base and a production service base in Murmansk, as well as a transshipment base on Varandey with a rotational village for 180 people under construction for temporary accommodation of Prirazlomnaya MLPP personnel.

Logistics for shift personnel and cargo delivery involves the use of An-24 (AN-26) aircraft for flights to Varandey Airport and two modernized MI-8AMT helicopters for flights to the platform. There are several modernized helicopters in Prirazlomnaya fleet equipped with strict safety requirements. The helicopters have light paths, extruded windows and two liferafts, each with 25 seats.

They built a platform in Severdvinsk and Murmansk, and then by sea delivered to the place of deployment. When designing it, the experience of leading American, Canadian and Norwegian oil and gas companies, which for several decades have been producing in similar climatic conditions, was taken into account.

The residential module is based on the Norwegian oil platform, which is in operation, but everything else is an absolutely unique platform designed to ensure maximum oil production safety in the Arctic region. It is designed for huge ice loads.

The length and width of Prirazlomnaya MLSP are 126 m, height - 141 m. The platform is firmly held at the bottom of the sea due to its gravitational weight exceeding 500 thousand tons, and after installation it actually became an artificial island. Its gravitational stability and protection against undermining of the soil are also provided by crushed stone berm (its volume is over 45 thousand cubic meters), dumped around the perimeter of the bottom of the platform.

Structurally, the platform consists of several parts: a caisson, where the oil storage is located, an intermediate deck, an auxiliary module, a superstructure, a residential module, and two sets of direct oil shipment devices (CUPON). More than 200 staff members work on a daily basis on a rotational basis.

Prirazlomnaya is protected from wave and ice impacts by a special design - a deflector made of high-strength steel. It is a wall with a height of 16.4 m, the inclined upper part of which prevents transfusion of incident waves. The drilling rig at the Prirazlomnaya MLSP is reliably protected from external influences, which allows drilling in any weather. Drilling capacity is 547 tons, it can withstand a wind load of 51 m / s.

Since the depth of the sea in the area of the platform is small, only 20 meters, the Prirazlomnaya stands directly at the bottom of the sea, and all the wells are drilled inside it. Thus, the base of the platform (caisson) is also a buffer between the well and the open sea. The caisson is a unique development: it bears the main load and the reliability of the entire platform depends on its reliability. It is the caisson part that allows Prirazlomnaya to successfully withstand the harsh Arctic climate, protect all equipment and ensure the safe work of personnel. The margin of safety of the base of the platform is many times greater than the existing loads - it can withstand even a direct torpedo strike.

For greater resistance to corrosion and wear, the walls of the caisson are made of 4 cm thick clad steel, the three-meter space between which is filled with heavy-duty concrete. To protect against high humidity and aggressive marine environment, a special paintwork and cathodic and anodic protection systems are used. For additional safety, special equipment has been installed at the wells, capable of reliably blocking the oil rise at depth if necessary.

The well has a vertical depth of 2.3-2.7 km, then horizontal drilling begins at a distance of up to 3 km.

Fly around the Prirazlomnaya platform:

The Prirazlomnaya MLSP is equipped with two sets of devices for direct oil shipment (CUPON) operating on the basis of a crane system and allowing loading of tankers from the platform’s oil storage. COUPONS are located at opposite ends of the platform, which makes it possible for tankers to approach the platform unhindered in any weather and navigation conditions.

Coupon devices are equipped with a special nose receiver. Oil shipment is carried out through one of the devices, depending on the direction of external loads (waves, ice drift, current, wind). COUPON tracks tanker movements in the 180 ° sector. If it deviates from the sector serviced by one device, the tanker is unloaded and transferred to another COUPON.

Before the start of the shipping operations, the shuttle tankers Mikhail Ulyanov and Kirill Lavrov, equipped with a bow loading system, carry out non-contact mooring at which the distance from the tanker to the Prirazlomnaya MLSP is 80 ± 6 m. To avoid an accidental collision with the platform, they are equipped with a system dynamic positioning, which, despite the wind and waves, allows you to hold the tanker in place. Tanker loading speed can reach up to 10 thousand m3 / hour, which allows loading the tanker with ARCO oil in 8-9 hours. Special vessels equipped with the latest emergency oil-gathering equipment for working in winter conditions are constantly on duty next to the platform.

The transport and logistics scheme of the Prirazlomnoye project, which includes two multifunctional icebreaking vessels (IFF) Vladislav Strizhov and Yuri Topchev and two shuttle tankers Mikhail Ulyanov and Kirill Lavrov, allows for a full cycle of work for uninterrupted supply and safe functioning of the Prirazlomnaya OIRFP.

MFLS deliver goods from the supply base in Murmansk to the platform, ensure technological and environmental safety of work, and if necessary, hold shuttle tankers during cargo operations. The vessels are equipped with a cargo deck of 750 m2, a deck crane and other necessary devices. Since the start of industrial oil production at the Prirazlomnoye field, MFLS have already transported more than 130 thousand tons of cargo in total.

Shuttle tankers “Mikhail Ulyanov” and “Kirill Lavrov” with a deadweight of 70 thousand tons, built in 2009, are intended for year-round export of oil from the field. Tankers have a reinforced ice class and are equipped with a dynamic positioning system that allows the ship to hold at one point during loading despite the effects of wind and waves. Vessels are able to move forward in the ice, equipped with modern means of navigation and control.

Work at Prirazlomnaya is organized in such a way as to ensure maximum environmental and industrial safety of the project. However, in accordance with international best practices and standards, Gazprom Neft Shelf has developed and implemented a detailed Oil Spill Prevention and Response Plan (OSR). This document considers various scenarios of possible risks and describes the actions of personnel and auxiliary forces in the event of any unforeseen situation. Gazprom Neft Shelf has purchased special equipment that will allow for prompt response to oil spills in arctic conditions.

All equipment is on escort vessels that are on duty at the Prirazlomanaya platform around the clock:

And here is what the Prirazlomnaya platform looks like from above from the Frog capsule, with the help of which personnel are transported to escort ships:

The new grade of oil produced at the Prirazlomnoye field is called ARCO - from the initial letters of the English words Arctic and Oil. A new grade of oil first entered the world market in April 2014.

ARCO oil has a high density (about 906 kg per cubic meter) and high sulfur content, as well as low paraffin content. Relatively heavy compared to conventional Russian export oil, ARCO is well suited for deep processing in refineries in northwestern Europe. It produces unique chemical products that can be used in road construction, tire production, in the space and pharmaceutical industries.

And so the platform looks 7 months a year, from November to May. I'd love to see her in the ice, but we were in October.

Prirazlomnaya is the only project in the world where production in the Arctic is carried out from a fixed platform. He is the most safe in comparison with other platforms.