[Keith_McClary]

I haven't been able to find a map with scale showing exactly where the discovery sits. But much of the Kara Sea is bordered by land masses that seem rather close. I'm wondering if subsea wells connect by long umbilicals might be an option. If so it might significantly reduce costs and speed up developments. As seen below subsea completion have become more common in the Deep Water GOM. But instead of being in 5,000'+ water the discover is only in 300'. A lot cheaper/easier:

Shallow may not be good:

When an iceberg runs aground, it can plow a furrow several metres deep in the seabed that may extend for tens of kilometres. Iceberg scour marks have been known from the Labrador Sea and Grand Banks since the early 1970s. In the Arctic, many marks are found at depths of more than 400 metres (1,300 feet)
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/top ... -transport