Russian producer Gazpromneft is to shut its Prirazlomnaya platform in the Pechora Sea for three months this summer for upgrading work, according to reports.
The shut-down will not, however, results in an output drop from the Prirazlomnoye field, on which the platform is situated, with production still expected to increase year-on-year.
Russian news outlet Arctic Info cited the state-controlled oil producer’s chief executive Alexander Dyukov as saying the platform will be shut for work to be carried out primarily by US companies, which were not identified.
Despite the hiatus, output is still set to reach between 2.5 million and 2.6 million tonnes (around 18 million barrels and over) of crude oil in 2017. This would top the 2.1 million tonnes produced last year, Arctic Info reported.
The field holds estimated recoverable reserves of 540 million barrels of oil, with peak production of 110,000 barrels per day to be achieved by 2020.
The Prirazlomnaya platform was the scene of the arrest of the so-called Arctic 30 group of Greenpeace protesters in late 2013. They were arrested after an attempt to board the facility and halt production but were released two months later, before the case against them was dropped following a year-long probe.
