OREANDA-NEWS. July 2, 2009. Today in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Gazprom's delegation took part in the celebrations dedicated to the start of exploration drilling in the Kirinskoye field offshore the Sakhalin Peninsula.

The start of geological exploration in the Kirinskoye field is another crucial step towards establishing Gazprom's resource base in the Far East and creating a new gas production area offshore Sakhalin as part of the state Eastern Gas Program.

This will be the first project in the Sakhalin offshore carried out solely by Russian companies. To develop Sakhalin's potential hydrocarbon resources the Company will make the maximum use of the capabilities of domestic shipbuilding and machine-building companies.

Starting from 2014, the Kirinskoye field will turn into a gas source for the Sakhalin – Khabarovsk – Vladivostok gas transmission system being constructed to ensure reliable gas supplies to consumers of the Khabarovsk and Primorsky Krais and the Sakhalin Oblast.