The jackup KANTAN 6 has started drilling appraisal well No.3 on the North Veninskaya formation in the Veninsky license block, offshore Sakhalin.

Venineft, a joint venture between Rosneft and China Petrochemical Corp. (Sinopec), operates the block as part of the Sakhalin-3 project.

At the end of June, the transportation vessel Trustee delivered the rig for unloading in Aniva Bay, from where it was mobilized to the well location.

Planned measured depth of the well is 3,830 m (12,566 ft) with a vertical deviation of 750 m (2,460 ft). The drilling site is 7 km (4.3 mi) offshore in a water depth of 25 m (82 ft). Drilling and subsequent geological and geophysical surveys will run through the end of September.

Commissioned in December 2010, KANTAN 6 is equipped for operation in Arctic conditions, and was built in full compliance with Russian legal environmental requirements and regulations. Its helipad can accommodate Mi-8 helicopters.

Venineft's team of Russian and Chinese specialists is managing drilling operations, with Russian contractors operating on Sakhalin providing supply, transport, communication, and environmental monitoring services.

A rapid response vessel will patrol the drilling site around-the-clock throughout the drilling campaign in compliance with safety requirements for emergency situations.

According to a DeGolyer and MacNaughton report, Veninsky block holds estimated recoverable resources as of Dec. 31, 2010, of 17.2 MM metric tons (19 MM tons) of oil and 238 bcm (8.4 tcf) of gas.

The North-Veninskoye gas/condensate field discovery contains C1+C2 reserves of 49.02 bcm (1.7 tcf) of gas and 1.21 MM metric tons (1.33 tons) of condensate.