A research expedition of the Rosneft company has started in Murmansk. The drilling ship “Bavenit” is heading to the Laptev Sea to, for the first time in history, drill shallow stratigraphic wells in the Eastern Arctic and take cores for scientific work. The valuable stone material will serve as a direct source of geological information required to determine the age (stratification), composition, and formation conditions of sedimentary rocks in the studied shelf region. As a result of the expedition, scientists expect to build a reliable geological model of the region and assess its oil and gas potential.
The oil and gas company has been developing a comprehensive long-term scientific program in the Arctic for several years, which includes geological, hydrometeorological and environmental research. The work is carried out in cooperation with the leading scientific and design organizations of the country. Since 2012, the Arctic Research Center of the company has organized over 30 expeditions to the polar regions – these are the most ambitious studies of the Arctic since Soviet times.
Field work in the Laptev Sea will be carried out in compliance with the highest standards of environmental safety and environmental protection. The project was preceded by long-term geological expeditions to the research region, as well as a cycle of seismic exploration, engineering and geophysical work. All this made it possible to build a comprehensive geological model of the Eastern Arctic shelf, which will be detailed based on the results of the expedition.
For the Rosneft expedition, the Bavenit drilling vessel is equipped with the latest domestic equipment, which makes it possible to carry out the so-called “diamond” drilling to a depth of 500 meters, accelerate core sampling several times and improve the quality of rock samples taken. The vessel is also equipped with unique fiber optic geophysical equipment to tie the core to the seismic section.
Laboratory analyzes of the core will be performed by Innopraktika and the Geological Faculty of the Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov. Now the laboratories continue to study rock samples taken in 2020 in the north of the Kara Sea.
