Drill always, drill everywhere…

The development of natural resources of the Arctic region of our planet and primarily, vast in-place mineral and energy resources is gaining today enormous significance. Borehole drilling plays a key role to this regard. Drilling is the most effective and informative method of subsurface depth structure study, prospecting, exploration and production of mineral resources, as well as underground space development. High efficiency, low cost, information content, safety and a number of other advantages of modern borehole drilling and outfitting technologies dictate the increasing role of drilling in both scientific and production sectors of human activity. Will our country be effectively and safely using this method in the Arctic’s severe geological and environmental conditions?

The development of natural resources of the Arctic region of our planet and primarily, vast in-place mineral and energy resources is gaining today enormous significance. Borehole drilling plays a key role to this regard. Drilling is the most effective and informative method of subsurface depth structure study, prospecting, exploration and production of mineral resources, as well as underground space development. High efficiency, low cost, information content, safety and a number of other advantages of modern borehole drilling and outfitting technologies dictate the increasing role of drilling in both scientific and production sectors of human activity. Will our country be effectively and safely using this method in the Arctic’s severe geological and environmental conditions?

Initial phase of drilling in the North

Systematic development of the Northern, North-Eastern and Arctic regions in our country began in the 1930-s and dealt with prospecting, exploration and exploitation of continental deposits of mineral reserves (Kola Peninsula, Ukhta, Vorkuta, Norilsk, Yakutia, Kolyma, Chukotka). We entered the Arctic shelf in 1962 when the Tazovskoye oil field was discovered on the bank of the Ob Bay of the Kara Sea. Five years later, the U.S. oil geologists discovered the Prudhoe Bay oil field on Alaska.

The then-existing Soviet system of training specialists for the needs of the industry and effective activities of scientific-and-research institutes provided for the development of complex engineering knowledge to carry out R&D works aimed at the elaboration of new methods and technologies of boreholes drilling and outfitting in the permafrost areas. In 1960-1980 new technologies and equipment were widely used in our country for drilling prospecting and operating boreholes. This was the drilling with hydraulic and electric down-hole drive of cutting tools: with hydraulic and pneumatic-percussion drilling rigs, with the use of special circulation medium (low-temperature drilling mud, compressed air and gas-liquid mixtures); slant-hole directional drilling, cluster drilling, underbalanced drilling (UB drilling), construction of deep boreholes, etc.

Continental Scientific Drilling Program

The first scientifically oriented systematic super-deep continental drilling program was worked out and carried out in the Soviet Union. The basic concept of this program was formulated in 1960–1962. The drilling of ultra-deep Kola borehole began in May 1970 in the north of the Murmansk region, 10 km away from the Zapolarny city (with design depth of 15 km). In 1991 the drilling was terminated at a depth of 12,262 m. Up to date the Kola borehole remains the world-deepest borehole. In 1977 the drilling of Saatli borehole was started in the Kura basin in Azerbaijan. Although the design depth of the borehole was 11 km, for some reasons the drilling was stopped at a depth of 8324 m, and not all assigned scientific tasks were accomplished.

The Continental Scientific Drilling Program of super-deep R&D borehole drilling carried out under the auspices of the Ministry of Geology of the USSR and with the support of the State Committee for Planning and the State Committee for Science and Technology within the framework of central planned economy and budget financing became the unique long-term large-scale experiment of the day. In the course of this program implementation the world record (12.262 m) of drilling depth was set at Kola super-deep borehole SG-3.

Besides, the following technologies were successfully tested:

• borehole drilling with hydraulic down-hole reduction motors and high-tensile lightweight drill pipes (LWDP);
• rotary-turbine drilling of large diameter boreholes;
• drilling without pulling out drill strings using removable tools (core catchers, rock cutting and special tools, down-hole motors);
• technologies for coring in hard abrasive rock.

The advantages of the down-hole motors technology application were so obvious that these most advanced techniques of cluster borehole drilling still continue to be used for the exploration and development of almost all Siberian and coastal offshore oil and gas fields in our country.

Unfortunately, not all the achievements of completed R&D and experimental works have been put into good practice, despite their potential.

Domestically manufactured drilling equipment and tools, mechanization and automation systems of technological processes and operations, methodology and equipment for information and technological processes control, quality of used materials, etc. often conceded to foreign analogs.

With huge experience in borehole drilling in permafrost conditions at exploration, prospecting and mining of the largest hydrocarbon deposit fields in Siberia, North and East-North regions of our country, Russia, however, is still not ready to develop on its own huge resources concentrated in its Arctic sector.

International practice

During the second half of the 20th century foreign, primarily the largest transnational oil companies, concerned about the depletion of the on-shore deposits stepped up their efforts to develop offshore and adjacent areas of the continental slope and its foot. Substantial growth of world oil prices contributed to the process.

The first scientific program of off-shore drilling “Mohole” was initiated in the USA in 1957. The program made it possible to develop such technologies of off-shore oil-and-gas production as dynamic positioning of drilling ships and platforms over the borehole mouth in the process of drilling, reentry into the underwater boreholes at a depth of up to 3000 m, sampling of cores from the sea bottom deposits and rock for producing horizons study. These studies were successfully continued within the frames of such international projects as “Deep Sea Drilling Project” (1966–1983), “Ocean Drilling Program” (1985–2003), “Integrated Ocean Drilling Program” (from 2003), etc. contributing to innovative drilling technologies development, upgrading the engineering tools, finding solution to complex organizational and environmental problems in the development of the sea and ocean resources. However, our country practically did not participate in these projects.

For more than 40-year-long period of work on the Arctic shelf the USA and Canada’s leading private oil-and-gas companies with active financial and scientific support of the national governments interested in the development of new hydrocarbon resources have drilled here more than 200 investigation, exploration-and-prospecting and operating boreholes. A wealth of experience has been gained in drilling of such boreholes in ice-covered water areas. Norway, our neighbor on the Arctic shelf, is also experienced in such work. Currently it is prospecting and developing some largest deposits in the Norwegian and Barents seas including one of the world’s most advanced gas-and-oil field – “Ormen Lange” deep water deposit. It’s here where a new technology of borehole drilling and operation with outfitting its mouth at the sea bottom was applied for the first time. The technology allowed them to significantly reduce the cost of work and mitigate technical and environmental risks. It is noteworthy that for the development of the technology of associated and hydrated gas extraction from this field the Russian experience of the Messoyakhskoe gas-hydrate field in the Western Siberia was taken into account.

The Arctic resources development – the instrument of our security

The development of the offshore hydrate gas deposits in the Arctic is of significance in scientific-and-technical development of our country realizing this program.

Having huge continental crude hydrocarbon reserves, we were late to launch exploration and prospecting works on Arctic Shelf (1981). We were short of necessary experience, special-purpose technology and specific facilities to start the shelf borehole drilling in the Arctic severe environmental conditions. In the first place we did not have special ships and offshore rig platforms even for shelf drilling. Lease and construction of offshore platforms capable of working on the Arctic shelf were dragged on for many years because of the lack of financing and own production capacities. Only 48 boreholes were drilled in 1982- 2003, and in doing so the work was performed merely in summer when the sea felt free from ice.

The construction of the first offshore ice-resistant fixed platform (OIRFP) called “Prirazlomnaya” designed for the drilling and development of oil deposits of the same name in the extreme Arctic conditions, was initiated by the production enterprise “Sevmash” (December 1995). The basis of the above platform was formed of the blocks of 27-year old “Hutton” platform removed from the operation in the North Sea which was purchased by “Sevmorneftegaz” from Norway (2002). Only during the platform refurbishment its design was five times changed. It is now being tested on the Northern shelf of the Pechora Sea. All of the drilling and auxiliary equipment, control systems, mechanization and automation controls of production processes were supplied by foreign companies. The deposit was discovered in 1989, the estimated period of commerce production is 22 years, and the same time period is allotted for organizational-and-preparation works.

It is obvious that the present-day level of organization and drilling on the Arctic shelf of Russia will not permit to successfully meet the objectives of effective development of its natural reserves in the short-term prospective whereas it is the main factor of our security in the region.

Neither military presence, nor cross-border controls guarantee safe and stable development of this region, providing for necessary preservation of the unique nature of the Arctic and the elimination of environmental pollution, dating back to previous decades, primarily because of our military presence there (landfill metal, fuel-lubricant materials, radioactive and toxic wastes, etc.).

Reasonable and effective policy of international cooperation is necessary to solve these problems which will make it possible for us to use our Arctic neighbors’ positive experience to a full extent. In international agreements on joint development of natural resources there should be neither subjectivity (yesterday - Statoil, BP, today - ExxonMobil), nor exclusive rights to develop offshore by our state-owned companies without auctions, detailed design study of environmental problems and the assessment of work safety risks. The disaster in the Gulf of Mexico happened at one of the “BP” deep-sea rig platforms may just have the different impact in Arctic and have the other consequences, bearing in mind that both there and here there are thick deposits of natural gas hydrates (with which, for example, they associate the catastrophe caused by the world’s largest Storegga submarine landslide (8200 years old), 90 000 km2 in the area, equal to one-third of the Norway territory. The Russian-Norwegian-French joint venture established for the development of the largest Shtockman gas condensate deposit in the Barents Sea shelf postpones taking the final investment decision on the project implementation due to persisting complex technical and environmental problems.

At present the necessary pre-condition of our national security is re-gaining the previous level of training specialists capable of working in the environment of transit to energy-saving eco-friendly innovative drilling technologies in the increasingly complex geological and climatic conditions. But this is impossible without targeted long-term financing of R&D works from the state and private business, without cooperation with foreign leading scientific centers and companies, without practical participation in international projects and events.

Currently our country is a huge market for foreign technologies, engineering tools and innovative materials. Do we have enough natural resources to pay for this? And how long will they last should we become unable to participate actively in current technical progress and be only the obedient consumer of foreign projects? And it is this that poses a threat to our national security and probably to our national sovereignty.