Russian Premier Vladimir Putin visited the stationary oil platform
named after Yuri Korchagin, located in the Caspian Sea, which is
starting oil extraction, RIA Novosti reports.
The Korchagin oil field is located 180 km from Astrakhan and 200 km
from Makhachkala. It is being developed by Lukoil-Nizhnevolzhskneft, a
branch of the private oil company Lukoil.
The stationary platform started drilling in the third quarter of 2009.
The production module has a drilling complex with a tonnage of 560,
capable of drilling 7.4 km deep. The living quarters can accommodate
105 people.
Estimated deposits are 28.8 million tons of oil and 63.3 billion cubic
meters of gas. Max yearly extraction will be 2.5 million tons of oil
and 1 billion cubic meters of gas.
Extracted oil goes through an underwater 58 km pipeline with 300 mm
diameter to a naval re-loading floating storage capable of holding 28
thousand tons of oil. Further transport of oil will be carried out by
tankers with a dead-weight of 6-12 thousand tons.
Zero-discharge technology will be used when waste is transported
ashore for further utilization. Over 120 million roubles will be spent
on an ecological program by 2014.
Lukoil discovered 6 oil-fields in the Caspian Sea between 1999 and
2005. Overall estimates are 4.7 billion barrels of oil.
