Arctic Russia

costs of arctic oil and gas development very high

Поиск, which is a kind of scientific non-technical journal, contains an interesting interview with the chief researcher at the Institute of Geological Sciences, Academician Yuri Leonov, in which there is discussion and analysis of the future of oil and gas exploration in the Arctic. 

The Academician states that the traditional sources for Russia in the Caspian and Western Siberian regions are running low.  It is stated that the Arctic contains an estimated 90 billion barrels of oil and 47 trillion cubic meters of natural gas. 

Leonov divides the resources into two kinds: the first, oil production on the coastal shelf where the sea is shallow, the second in the central Arctic Basin and the deep shelf sites.

Basically, the Academician’s conclusions are that neither site is particularly attractive for development.  It is estimated that it would cost ‘2.64 trillion dollars by 2050′ just to develop the resources on the coastal shelf and as for the resources of the Arctic basin this is only for ‘ в очень отдаленной перспективе’ – ‘the very distant future.’  The development of the coastal shelf  ‘выглядит более реально’ – ‘appears more realistic’ – though even this would need to over come significant obstacles, such as difficult ice-conditions and weak geographical knowledge.

Meanwhile, another article in поиск, and bearing in mind Putin’s recent work with the Russian Geographical Society, notes that new impetus is to be given to ‘patriotic geography’  and ’решения проблем, связанных с трансформацией экономики, хозяйства и культуры русского Севера в условиях глобальных климатических изменений …’ i.e., resolutions to problems connected with the transformation of the economy, society and culture of the Rusian north under conditions of climate change …’