Prospecting drilling projects on the Caspian shelf

Location  - RUSSIA, Astrakhan region, Caspian sea shelf.

1998, 2000 - Environmental Protection Volume (EPV), including EIA, as part of the detailed design for construction of exploratory wells in Hvalynskaya and Hvalynskaya-3 structures.

1999 - Environmental Protection Volume (EPV), including EIA, as part of the detailed design for construction of exploratory wells in Shirotnaya zone.

2000 - Environmental Protection Volume (EPV), including EIA, as part of the detailed design for construction of exploratory wells in Sarmatskaya zone.

2001 - Environmental Protection Volume (EPV), including EIA, as part of the individual detailed design for construction of an exploratory well in Rakushechnaya structure.

These deliverables included a review of the sources and types of the various project environmental impacts and an assessment of the background status of the various media (e.g. air, water, etc.). Impact mitigation was addressed too. We also completed a calculation and a mathematical simulation of the forecast levels of environmental impacts and determined the associated environmental damages and reimbursement allocations.

Addressing the penetration of the tophole (the first drilling section) of the well and the associated dispersion of drill cuttings in the sea, we developed the project waste management, Maximum Permissible Emission (MPE) and Discharge (MPD) reports and carried out the dispersion modeling. Our contribution to this project also included a risk analysis and an integral evaluation of the results of modeling the accidental oilspills using a spill model at three structures in Northern Caspian. We also described a system of onsite and offsite environmental monitoring for the project.

The work was completed through making use of input data received from both specialized regional think-tanks (e.g. KaspMNITs, KaspNIRH, YuzhMoreGeologiya, YuzhMorGeoShelf) and Moscow-based Infomar and SPO GOIN companies.