Rosgeo Engineering & Geological Fleet Drilled 103 Wells on the Arctic Shelf in 2023
The research fleet of JSC “Arctic Marine Engineering and Geological Expeditions” (AMIGE, a subsidiary of Rosgeologiya) in 2023 fulfilled 100% of its obligations under commercial and government contracts. Last year, 103 shallow wells for various purposes were drilled on the Arctic shelf of the Russian Federation with a total penetration of 4,284 meters.
In general, over 5 years – from 2019 to 2023 – the volume of offshore shallow drilling using the vessels of the Rosgeo engineering and geological fleet – “Kimberlit” and “Bavenit” – amounted to 16.6 thousand m, 567 wells were drilled, including 30 stratigraphic, 9 pilot and 528 engineering-geological.
One of the main areas of work of the flagship of the Rosgeo engineering fleet, the R/V Bavenit, in 2020-2023 was stratigraphic drilling, which was carried out in almost all seas of the Russian sector of the Arctic – the Kara, East Siberian, Chukchi and Laptev Seas. 30 stratigraphic wells were drilled in a volume of 4.3 thousand meters.
Work on stratigraphic drilling of shallow wells on the Arctic shelf is carried out by JSC “AMIGE” within the framework of a long-term research program of the geological structure of the Arctic region, developed by specialists of PJSC NK Rosneft together with the non-profit institute Innopraktika and Moscow State University, as well as by order of Rosnedra together with VNIIOkeangeology . The main task is the selection of core, valuable stone material, which is the main source of information about the geological structure and oil and gas potential of the Arctic shelf.
An important technological achievement was the introduction of vertical seismic profiling and thermometry techniques using the latest fiber-optic technologies in the study of stratigraphic wells, which provided significant savings compared to the use of classical geophysical research methods. On the shelf of the Russian Federation such research is carried out only by JSC AMIGE.
The work is of utmost importance for clarifying the geological structure of the Arctic region, which in the future will make geological exploration in the Arctic more efficient. A serious breakthrough was also achieved in terms of import substitution – most of the software and equipment used during drilling operations and logging was produced in Russia. Some samples were developed by AMIGE specialists. – Vitaly Khombak, Managing Director of JSC “AMIGE”
Another important area of work of JSC “AMIGE” is drilling pilot wells on board geotechnical vessels. This is a key stage of geological exploration for oil and gas, which allows subsoil users to minimize possible risks at the stage of production drilling.
In the course of regional engineering and geological studies during the drilling of pilot wells, important information was obtained to determine the locations of possible occurrence of permafrost soils, which may include layers with abnormally high formation pressure. A sudden release of trapped gas during drilling can lead to catastrophic accidents. The knowledge gained will further help ensure the safety of geological exploration in the Arctic.
