Russian and Canadian business partners will host official ceremonies at Calgary’s Petroleum Club (319 8th Avenue SW), at 5:30 pm tomorrow, to celebrate the arrival of the world’s biggest helicopter, the Russian MI-26, to support the exploration and development of potential oil and gas fields in the Mackenzie Delta and Mackenzie Valley.
The biggest helicopter in the world, the Russian designed and manufactured MI-26 heavy-lift helicopter has a lifting capacity of 20 tons externally or internally. The aircraft is managed by a crew of ten (five
flight crew and five maintenance Engineers) and cruises at 150 mph with a fuel burn of 3000 litres/hour. The largest load carried by a Western helicopter is 12 tons with the American-built Chinook.
Currently, the Mackenzie delta has a short drilling season relying on ice roads from mid-December to late-March. These areas do not have a surface transportation infrastructure and are sensitive to fragile eco-systems and native land stewardship issues. The MI-26 is capable of delivering an air-portable drilling platform allowing for an extended drilling season and addressing critical environmental issues. The helicopter will airlift virtually all equipment, structures, and supplies both into and out of the drill site from early spring to late fall – approximately mid-April to mid-December. Airborne Energy Solutions, Nabors Drilling LLP, SkyLink Aviation Inc., and Utair Aviation have formed an association to jointly explore and introduce the MI-26 into Canada for this specific purpose.
The helicopter’s route to Canada was as follows: from the manufacturer’s plant in Southern Russia (Rostov-on-Don) to Moscow, to Northern Siberia (Surgut), across Northern Russia, to the East Coast at the last point of Russia Providenia, then across the Bering Sea to Anchorage, then into Whitehorse for official importation to Canada. It was then dispatched to Yellowknife where it is already helping local mining operations that are suffering from the lack of ice roads this past winter.
Welcome Ceremony – Tuesday, May 23 @ 5:30 pm – Petroleum Club – 319 8th Avenue SW, Calgary
– Nicolai Smirnoff (Consul General of Russia)
– Tony Hunley (President, Airborne Energy Solutions)
– Jan Ottens (General Manager, SkyLink Aviation)
– Duane Mathers (President & CEO, Nabors Canada)
– Andrey Martirosov (President & CEO, Utair Aviation)
For further information: Jan Ottens, General Manager, SkyLink Aviation, (416) 618-1720, Jottens@skylinkaviation.com
