Gazprom Neft subsidiary Gazpromneft-Sakhalin has completed its drilling and testing of a prospecting and appraisal well in the Bautinsky formation at the Ayashsky licence block, offshore in the Sea of Okhotsk, resulting in the discovery of a hydrocarbon field with reserves in place estimated at more than 137 million tonnes of oil equivalent (mtoe). The new field has been named the Triton field in honour of the mythological Greek god of the sea, son of Neptune.
The decision to drill at the Bautinsky formation was taken on the basis of extensive geological research of the area, analysis of 3D seismic data, and successful drilling at the Ayashsky licence block, where the Neptune field — one of the largest Sakhalin offshore fields, with 415 million C1+C2 reserves — was discovered in 2017.
Well construction at the Bautinsky formation involved cutting-edge technological solutions, ensuring work was completed to a high standard, and to schedule.
The Ayashsky license block in the Sea of Okhotsk is located 55 kilometres offshore from Sakhalin Island, in the north—east of the island’s continental shelf, where sea depths can reach up to 90 metres. Some 2,150 square kilometres of 3D seismic investigations have previously been undertaken at the block.
Gazpromneft Sakhalin is a subsidiary of Gazprom Neft. The company is primarily engaged in the exploration and development of offshore oil and gas fields. The company is operator of the Dolginskoye oil field, at which geological prospecting works are currently ongoing, as well as the North-West block of the Pechora Sea, the Kheisovsky block in the Barents Sea, the Severo-Vrangelevsky block, covering the East-Siberian and Chukhchi Seas, and the Ayashsky block in the Sea of Okhotsk. (Source: Gazprom Neft)