Academician Kontorovich: Russia needs to go to the Arctic surely!

Academician Alexey Kontorovich is the coordinator of the program “Geological structure and oil and gas content of the Arctic (the territory and the water area)” of the Branch of the Earth science of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Today he tells about the resources value of the Arctic for Russia and for world oil and gas business.

- The known slogan of Lomonosov hangs from the moment of the foundation of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences in the Novosibirsk Akademgorodok. But it is necessary to quote it precisely: “The power of Russia will grow by Siberia and North ocean!” Lomonosov, of course, didn't think about oil and gas then though, for example, he had statements about possibility of the transport service on the Northern sea way! He spoke about richness of Siberia and the North, about need of their development.

The Arctic is not only oil and gas. Everything began with the development of the Kola Peninsula Khibiny. These works were initiated by the academician Fersman. And the powerful industry is still there. And, secondly, it is also Norilsk copper — nickel and now platinum complex. It was founded even before the war and actively develops in the last decades.

We conduct the works on prospects justification of gas content on all territory from Novaya Zemlya and Polar Ural to Lena – I mean both the Arctic territory and the water area. We finished huge work on Yamal and the Kara Sea and we will recommend soon the lands where it is necessary to concentrate the oil and gas searches. These lands are fantastically rich in gas: both water area and land. We can already specify the most large-scale deposits and specify the points where it is necessary to drill. We will continue the work in the western sector of the Arctic, carry on negotiations with Gazprom”, we will generalize all materials across Yamal and Gydan for it.

It is necessary to say that the North of Western Siberia is the largest industrially mastered center in the Arctic zone in the world! Here is more than 30 % of world gas reserves. Medvezhie, Urengoy, Yamburg, Nadym – it is everything the Arctic! But if the Arctic delivered only dry gas methane and was base for economy of the European part of the country and including the European economy, now our institute brings an attention to the question essentially differently. We are the richest with oil and gas country; we were the second in the world in 1990 on volume of petrochemistry production. But we almost lost petrochemistry for 20 years after the falling of the Soviet Union.
It was oriented on processing of petrol fraction of oil, the so-called naphtha. And our national economy, as well as the European economy leaned on it. And the gas is fat in North America therefore there went other way. Now we made the decision on more complete utilization of passing gas, but the most important we left on big depths and we extract fat gas there. The USA today spends 7-8 million tons for all petrochemistry. And we will extract ethane in 2-3 times more only on Yamal! We already reported the program in the Department of Energy and we will represent soon it in the government.

We need the new product managers and the new clusters on the basis of fat Arctic gas will be created not only Yamal, but also in Tatarstan and in the northwest of Russia. This is unique decision! Thus, we pass to new raw materials and new technologies.

Last year the big group of the leading Siberian scientists visited Nadym and Yamal by the invitation of “Gazprom dobycha”. There is Bovanenko field directly on the bank of the Arctic Ocean; the works on development of the Kharasavey field already begun which half leaves to the Kara Sea. There is the development of the regions of the Kara Sea, Ob and Taz Bay. For the last 15 years “Gazprom” opened a large number of the largest gas fields. It is the first knot where the Arctic works of Russia will be developed.

The second area is the North of Krasnoyarsk krai. Here we will allocate three regions. Left bank of Yenisei: Vankor will already give to 25 million in the next years and the region as a whole to 40 million tons. This knot becomes soon one of the largest oil-extracting areas in the territory of Russia.

Between Yenisei and Khatanga there is Yenisei-Khatanga regional deflection – it is a huge flat pipe where the gas fields are already opened and there is a forecast for opening of oil fields. Further to the east there is an Anabar-Khatanga area on the coast of the Arctic Ocean. We just finished the generalization on this area – here there is a possibility to transport the extracted oil at once by the Northern sea way.

There is Lena-Anadyr deflection on Laptev seashore. We collected all geophysical and seismic material on this territory in the archives and processed it. And it is absolutely clear that there are absolutely outstanding stocks. It is the powerful gas content area where it is necessary to develop the prospecting works. We are waited by big openings there!

Why should we go to the Arctic? One of the academicians published the article in which wrote that it is not necessary to go to the Arctic, but it is necessary to go on big depths. Mistake! It is necessary to go both on big depths and to the Arctic –it is not necessary to forget something! Our estimates show that the oil production in the world will reach a maximum in the 30-40th years of our century. If now to start to work actively in the Arctic, so in 20 years there will be such stocks which can support the production at this level. In order to satisfy the inquiries of the world as a whole, to provide a role to Russia as stabilizer of the world energy markets, we should simply go to the Arctic. It is our internal question and our international obligations to all mankind which Russia took on itself.

Till 1990 the Soviet Union was the indisputable leader in the development of the Arctic. We had both well developed infrastructure and icebreaking fleet and, of course, the biggest experience. Now all this needs to be restored, but already at new level. There is one more circumstance: the drilling in the Arctic is necessary taking into account an ice situation – and there are no oil and gas without drilling! Norway reached the first positions for the last quarter of the century after the Soviet Union passed away. Today they have a powerful industry for building of objects on the development of the Arctic: drilling, transport … And we, on the contrary, all that had – lost now… and created nothing.

Therefore it is necessary to consider all the best that is in the world now, of course, but it is necessary to create the economy and the science which would allow to master the Arctic shelf. We both should and are obliged to do it. Russia, cooperating with all countries, should be the self-sufficient country at the same time!