Romanian company kicks off Arctic fields drilling in the Barents Sea with Gazprom contract

The Romanian Grup Servicii Petroliere recently landed a new contract with oil and gas giant Gazprom, drilling for oil in the Barents Sea. Drilling work is scheduled to start in June this year, in the South – East area of the Barents Sea on the Russian continental shelf. Upetrom signed the contract with Gazprom Neft and this will be the first Arctic offshore exploration for the Romanian company, it announced.

“It is well known that the exploration of Arctic fields is more technically challenging than any other environment. […] Since 2004, our company has invested USD 1.35 billion in the acquisition and modernization of its vessels and drilling rigs, including the extensive upgrade of GSP Jupiter, which is now ready to face the challenges of the harsh weather conditions,” said Gabriel Valentin Comanescu, President and CEO of Grup Servicii Petroliere (GSP). At the moment, the recoverable reserves of the Barents Sea oilfield are estimated at more than 200 million tonnes. GSP's Jupiter will perform the drilling, logging, completion and testing of the North-Dolginskaya No. 3 well, while a fleet of four offshore support vessels, including two owned by the Romanian company, will assist the rig during the drilling operations. The first contract between GSP and Gazprom was signed in 2009 and was worth some USD 270 million. The Romanian company was tasked with building an underwater natural gas pipe of some 159 km. The Dzhubga – LazarevskoeSoci pipe is included in the Russian federation's Olympic Objectives program and will supply natural gas to Soci, where the Winter Olympics will take place in 2014. GSP Offshore is an integrated service provider to the oil & gas, renewables and telecommunications industries, covering fabrication, jack-up drilling rigs, under-sea construction & installation vessels, transportation & trenching. Gazprom Neft is the fifth largest Russian oil company by crude oil production and ranks in the top twenty globally, according to proven hydrocarbon reserves, with an oil equivalent in excess of 1 billion tonnes. The Barents Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located north of Norway and Russia, and known for its significant fossil fuel energy resources. editor@romania-insider.com (photo source: GSP)