Excerpt from Russian Petroleum Investor by Vladimir Baidashin
The question of fixing the Russian continental shelf external border arose after the Russian institute VNIIOkeanologiya using the icebreaker Russia conducted geological-geophysical research in 2007. The research zone encompassed the adjoining of the underwater Lomonosov Ridge with Laptev and East Siberian Sea shelves, substantiating the external border of the Russian continental shelf. During the work, arctic explorers in a bathyscaphe lowered to the ocean bottom near the North Pole, took ground samples and put there a Russian flag.
In September 2007, the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) reported that, “Preliminary analysis of data obtained for a model of the earth’s crust allows confirmation that the structure of the Lomonosov ridge corresponds to world analogues of a continental crust and therefore is a part of the adjoining continental shelf of the Russian Federation.”
For 2008-2009, plans call for preparation of geological substantiation for the Russian application defining its continental shelf external border and carrying out of negotiations with Denmark, Canada and the US on delimitation of the continental shelf in Arctic regions. Then, in 2011, Russia plans to send the United Nations (UN) an expanded application for establishing an external border in the Arctic regions in connection with acknowledgement of the continental nature of the Lomonosov Ridge and Mendeleyev’s Elevation with their belonging to the extensions of Eastern Siberia. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs remarks that, from the legal point of view, Russia from the very beginning operated within the limits of the Convention on the Law of the Sea.
By estimations of experts, the increase in the area of the Russian continental shelf in Arctic regions outside a 200-mile zone can total 1.2 million square kilometers. Estimates of hydrocarbon resources in the territory are approximately 4.9 billion tons of conditional fuel.
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Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Determining the Russian Offshore External Borders
Friday, January 4, 2008
Dutch Propose Developing Yamal and Kara Shelf Gas Fields
by Vladimir Baidashin for Russian Petroleum Investor
Dutch companies led by Royal Dutch Shell (Netherlands/UK) have suggested to Russian authorities a joint development of natural gas deposits on the Yamal peninsula and the Kara Sea
shelf. The proposal includes provision of unique extraction technologies, pipeline construction, hydrocarbon processing and even the creation of artificial islands for extracting and processing facilities. A joint working group will emerge to study the offer and make conclusions, after which the parties will create project-specific joint ventures. Gazprom has estimated that developing Yamal gas deposits would require about $160 billion.
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Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Federal Program to Focus on Offshore Equipment
The Russian government is actively engaged in the revival of domestic shipbuilding, primarily for construction of platforms and other equipment to develop the offshore shelf. Russia wants to ensure the complete preeminence of domestic providers, basing all equipmentproduction with Russian manufacturers. With this purpose in mind, the government has approved the federal target offshore technology development program for 2009-2016, proposed by the Ministry of Industry and Energy. Cost of the program amounts to about $5.6 billion. In addition to providing a strategic direction in shipbuilding, the government is also prioritizing production of technologies for shelf development. By 2015, Russia plans to invest $15-$20 billion in construction of 30-35 drilling platforms for work on the shelf, as well as ice-class liquefied gas tankers.
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