Work will be done in the summer of 2004 to determine how to minimize the possible negative effects of the construction on the whales, who are on the verge of extinction.
The revision of the construction schedule for work on the shelf will not influence the project's overall schedule, the release reported.
In summer, gray whales migrate to the Piltun section, the northern part of Sakhalin.
The pipeline is planned to be built in the area where the ocean freezes in the winter. In late 2003, research was conducted. The results pointed to the need of laying pipelines much deeper because of possible damages to the structures by the drifting ice. However, the construction of a pipeline at the great depth is conducted by large-capacity vessels, which may lead to a higher noise level than was initially planned.
Sakhalin Energy was created in April 1994 to realize Sakhalin-2, a comprehensive oil and natural gas project. The product sharing agreement (PSA) was signed on June 22, 1994 and stipulates the development of two ocean deposits - the Piltun Astokhsky oil deposit and the Lunsky natural gas condensate deposit. The agreement came into force on June 15, 1996.
The general reserves of these two deposits are 140 million metric tons of oil and 550 billion cubic meters of natural gas. Investments in this project are expected to exceed $10 billion.
The deposits are situated approximately 15 kilometers from the northeastern coast of Sakhalin in a water area that is covered with ice six months a year.
The general calculated oil and natural gas condensate reserves that can be extracted have been estimated at 140 million metric tons (4 billion barrels)-550 billion cubic meters of natural gas.
On May 15, 2003, the shareholders of Sakhalin Energy announced the beginning of the second stage of the Sakhalin-2 project. Within its framework of the project, two new ocean platforms, a coastal technological complex for producing natural gas and condensate in northern Sakhalin and two 850 kilometer long pipelines are planned to be constructed. The liquefied natural gas plant, which will consist of two technological lines with a 4.8 million metric tons annual throughput capacity each will be the most important part of the project. The plant will be located near the shipping terminals in the southern part of the island where the ocean is not frozen. The first shipments of liquefied natural gas are scheduled to begin in the second half of 2007. Year round oil extraction is expected in 2006.
