Obama Moves Forward on Arctic Drilling Despite Cleanup Challenges

The US Department of the Interior has proposed long-awaited federal regulations for oil and natural-gas in Alaska's Arctic region. Environmentalists have pointed out that the environment makes it nearly impossible to clean up spills.

The regulations point out the challenges in drilling in the Arctic environment and mandate extensive contingency plans for a swift response to spills. 

Spills are notoriously difficult to clean in the frigid and remote waters. Such rules include having an additional rig that could drill a relief well in the event the company loses control of the primary well.

According to analysis compiled by the National Energy Board, conditions in the area present huge obstacles to any potential cleanup efforts, even during the busy summer months. Looking at how wave heights and ice patterns could prevent the use of cleanup tools such as in-situ burning, containment and the use of dispersants, they determined cleanup would be impossible 20% of the time in June, 40% of the time in August and 65% of the time in October. After October, any response would most likely have to be deferred until the following season.

No company is yet drilling the Chukchi and Beaufort seas off the coast of Alaska yet, but Royal Dutch Shell is planning on starting exploratory drilling this summer. ConocoPhillips and Statoil also have leases in American Arctic areas but have yet to announce any drilling plans. However, Shell’s summer drilling will not be governed by that rule since it won’t be in place by then and would only apply to drilling operations farther in the future.

Shell was involved in a disastrous attempt to drill in the Arctic in 2012 when it was towing its Kulluk oil rig out into Dutch Harbor by ship. The ship lost control when a winter storm hit and the rig, along with 150,000 gallons of fuel and drilling fluid, later washed up along pristine Alaska coastline.

As a result, the Environmental Protection Agency fined Shell $1.1 million for violations of the Clean Air Act as a result of the Kulluk’s engines releasing nitrogen oxide, ammonia and other pollutants and they cited Shell with 33 air permit violations.

Since then, oil companies and environmentalists have been waiting to see how the Interior Department would react to industry lobbying efforts to drill in Alaska. It is believed that the region holds between 24 billion barrels of oil and 104 trillion cubic feet of gas comprising as much as 13 percent of the world’s undiscovered oil reserves and 30 percent of its undiscovered gas reserves, a potential boon for American production.
  sputniknews.com
 21/2/15
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Related:

• Arctic Council Signs Oil Spill Response Deal

• Αρκτική: «Όχι» στις γεωτρήσεις, λένε έμπιστοι του Ομπάμα

• Στην Αλάσκα διασώζουν εξέδρα γεώτρησης που έχει κολλήσει στα ρηχά (VIDEO)

• Rosneft gets access to $100bn gas and oil field in Alaska

• Attempts to save drilling device which has run aground postponed

• No oil spill seen at Shell drill ship in Alaska

• VITTORIA! Shell ferma i piani di trivellazione in Artico di quest'anno

• Greenpeace complaint halts Norway plans to drill northermost oil well

Rusia acuerda con Google filmar la naturaleza del Ártico

Las autoridades rusas y la compañía Google llegaron a un acuerdo para la realización de unas grabaciones en el Ártico ruso.

“Hemos acordado que probarán sus equipos en nuestros territorios árticos para filmar imágenes únicas”, dijo el ministro ruso de recursos Naturales, Serguéi Donskói.

Agregó que las grabaciones serán posteriormente publicadas en internet para que todos los turistas interesados en viajes ecológicos puedan acceder a ellas.

Además, Rusia colaborará con la revista National Geographic, a la que concederá diversos datos sobre los territorios árticos para su posterior publicación en las páginas de la publicación.  
  http://sp.ria.ru/ecology/20141118/163134124.html

18/11/14
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Noticias relacionadas:

• Russian Defense Ministry to Build Arctic Environmental Center. Presence in the Arctic is not to harm the region's ecology

• Arctic Council Needs Russia, to Continue Working With It

• Russia dispatches naval force to reopen Arctic base

Σοϊγκού: Πλήρης κάλυψη της Αρκτικής με ραντάρ «ώστε να εντοπίζεται κάθε ανεπιθύμητος επισκέπτης»

Στην πλήρη κάλυψη της περιοχής της Αρκτικής με ραντάρ προχωρά η Ρωσία ώστε από το 2015 να είναι «έτοιμη να εντοπίσει και να αναχαιτήσει κάθε ανεπιθύμητο επισκέπτη τόσο από το Βορρά όσο και την Ανατολή», όπως δήλωσε χαρακτηριστικά ο Σεργκέι Σοϊγκού.

Στη σημερινή συνεδρίαση του Πολιτικού Συμβουλίου του Υπουργείο Άμυνας, ο υπουργός τόνισε πως η Ρωσία είχε επεκτείνει τη στρατιωτική παρουσία της στην παγωμένη περιοχή της Αρκτικής, ενώ έχει αναπτύξει τις υποδομές και στα γύρω νησιά.
Πρόσφατα ξεκίνησε η αποκατάσταση των αεροδρομίων στα νησιά της Νέας Σιβηρίας (Νοβοσιμπίρσκ), ενώ προχωρά και το έργο της ανοικοδόμησης-αναβάθμισης των υποδομών των βάσεων, στους τομείς των νησιών Νόβαγια Ζεμλιά (Νέα Γη), Τισκί και Γη του Φραγκίσκου Ιωσήφ. 

Τα project αφορά κυρίως στη στρατηγική αεροπορία και στην ενεργοποίηση των ερευνητικών αποστολών του ρωσικού υπουργείου Άμυνας.
gr.rbth.com
28/10/14
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ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ:

• No need for NATO presence in Arctic (Lavrov)

• Lavrov non vede la necessità di una presenza NATO nell'Artico ... 
•  

• Russia dispatches naval force to reopen Arctic base

   

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• The Battle for the Arctic /Η αντιπαράθεση με το λιώσιμο των πάγων στην Αρκτικη

• Plateau continental arctique: la partie russe serait plus grande de 1,2 M km²

• Secretary Kerry Announces Department Will Establish a Special Representative for the Arctic Region.....

• Russian Defense Ministry to Build Arctic Environmental Center. Presence in the Arctic is not to harm the region's ecology

No need for NATO presence in Arctic (Lavrov)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday he sees no need of NATO presence in the Arctic.
“We firmly believe that there are no problems in the Arctic which demand NATO participation, moreover, there are no problems there which demand military decisions,” the minister said during a public lecture on Russia’s foreign policy.
According to Lavrov, long before the Ukrainian crisis, NATO said and continues saying that the military factor in the Arctic will increase amid the escalation of the fight for the resources.

“The Arctic is a territory of dialogue,” the minister stressed. “We use this slogan for regular forums in Russia, and the work of the Arctic Council, to a large extent, is drawn up in this way,” he said.

The eight members of the Arctic Council are Russia, Denmark, Canada, Norway, Iceland, Finland, Sweden, and the United States.

There is a common understanding among the Arctic states that all of them are interdependent and have joint tasks, namely the ecology and the need to ensure the safety of transport routes of the Northern Sea Route, he said.
“We are jointly interested in cooperating in defending our bids to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf,” Lavrov said.
en.itar-tass.com
20/10/14
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Related:

• Lavrov non vede la necessità di una presenza NATO nell'Artico ...

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• The Battle for the Arctic /Η αντιπαράθεση με το λιώσιμο των πάγων στην Αρκτικη

• Plateau continental arctique: la partie russe serait plus grande de 1,2 M km²

• Secretary Kerry Announces Department Will Establish a Special Representative for the Arctic Region.....

• Russian Defense Ministry to Build Arctic Environmental Center. Presence in the Arctic is not to harm the region's ecology

Russian Defense Ministry to Build Arctic Environmental Center. Presence in the Arctic is not to harm the region's ecology

MOSCOW, October 11  - Russia's Defense Ministry is set to build a regional environmental center in the Arctic to prevent pollution in areas where Russian forces are deployed, Deputy Minister of Defense Dmitry Bulgakov said Saturday.

"To control the ecology of the Russian Arctic zone, a regional environmental center of the Northern Fleet is to be created in the near future, which will carry out ecological monitoring and control compliance with Russian and international environmental legislation," Bulgakov said.

According to the deputy minister, Russia's military presence in the Arctic is not to harm the region's ecology.

He noted that Russian troops have been deployed in the Arctic in accordance with "existing international standards and international law regulations regarding environmental security issues".

Russian forces systematically receive "training and briefings on environmental safety and compliance with legislation", Bulgakov stated.

In April, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia will build a unified network of naval facilities on its Arctic territories to host advanced warships and submarines as part of a plan to boost protection of the country's interests and borders in the region.
(RIA Novosti)
11/10/14
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Related:

• The Battle for the Arctic

• Russia’s military presence in Arctic not to cause region’s pollution...

• Arctic Council Needs Russia, to Continue Working With It

• Russia dispatches naval force to reopen Arctic base

Arctic Council Needs Russia, to Continue Working With It

WASHINGTON, October 1  - The Arctic Council needs Russia, and is supportive of Moscow's continued engagement in its work, said Admiral Robert J. Papp, Jr., US Special Representative to the Arctic said during the conference at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC.
"We work with Russia now. We expect to continue to work with Russia," Papp, who will take over the Arctic Council chairmanship in 2015, said Tuesday.
US Representative to the Arctic noted that Ambassador Bolton just came back from Vladivostok where he worked on fisheries agreements.

"The commander of the Coast Guard was in San-Francisco two weeks ago for the North Pacific Coast Guard forum, in which Russia took part, and he met with his counterpart," he added.
"And in general, as a sailor, I have learned to be pretty optimistic guy. Even in the worst of storms at some points it's going to be better," Papp said, emphasizing that they will continue working with Russians. "We really need them as a part of the Arctic Council."
The opinion that the Arctic Council needs Russia's participation in its work was expressed by many senior officials and experts at the conference.
Vincent Rigby, the chair of the Senior Arctic Officials underlined that up until now there has been a high level cooperation between the Arctic Council members including Russia, and stressed that Russia's participation in an Arctic Council ministerial in Iqaluit next spring is expected.
"The cooperation between the Arctic Council states, including Russia has continued to operate at a very very high level," Rigby claimed, adding that in Dealing with his Russian counterpart up to this point he has received nothing but positive messages with respect to Moscow's commitment to making the Arctic Council work.
"We are certainly supportive of Russia's continued engagement in the Arctic Council. And we are going to try to make this work over the coming months," he stated.
"It is a plan right now to hopefully have an Arctic Council ministerial in Iqaluit that's going to be fully representative," senior Arctic official concluded.
Dr. Andrea Charron, professor at the University of Manitoba said that the future of the Arctic Council would be compromised if Russia is kicked out or leaves it.
"If for some reason Russia is kicked out, or any of the members decide to leave the Arctic Council, the continuation of the Arctic Council will definitely be up for debate," Charron stressed.
"Russia particularly, because it is such a large Arctic player on many fronts," she added.
 (Ria Novosti)
1/10/14
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Related:

• Arctique: Washington souhaite coopérer avec Moscou

• Arctic Council Signs Oil Spill Response Deal

• Arctic should not be arena of conflicting interests (Russian lawmaker)

• Moscow to submit Arctic shelf claim to UN in fall - Russian official

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• Rosneft to study Arctic’s fauna to protect it during oil exploration

• The Battle for the Arctic /Η αντιπαράθεση με το λιώσιμο των πάγων στην Αρκτικη

Rosneft Capable of Arctic Drilling Without ExxonMobil. (The East Prinovozemelsky blocks in the Kara Sea)

SOCHI, September 20 (RIA Novosti) - Russian oil giant Rosneft and US oil company ExxonMobil continue the drilling in the Kara Sea, however, the Russian company was prepared to continue work independently should plans have changed, Rosneft Vice President Larisa Kalanda said at the International Investment Forum Sochi 2014.
"The work at the Universitetskaya field is going in accordance to plans. We are satisfied with the decision from the American regulator that has authorized [Exxon's participation]… In the case that the regulator had not authorized Exxon to work at the field, Rosneft had its own plan and was ready to continue work on its own," Kalanda said.

"If Rosneft continued to work on the Universitetskaya project [independently] leading up to the field's commercial opening, partners would be required to enter a new round of negotiations to rejoin the project," she added.
Kalanda declined to comment on the exact date in which the drilling operations in the Kara Sea would finish.
"I would prefer not to name specific dates," she said, adding that, while adopting the work plan for the field, the company's specialists took into account the fact that there was little time to do the drilling.
In 2011, Rosneft signed a cooperation agreement with ExxonMobil to develop the East Prinovozemelsky blocks in the Kara Sea. In exchange for a share of 33 percent of the development in the Kara Sea, Exxon agreed to cover the majority of costs associated with exploratory drilling, which totaled more than $3.2 billion. Estimated recoverable oil resources in the three Kara Sea blocks stand at 6.2 billion tons, according to Rosneft.
Earlier, Exxon said it would assess the impact that western sanctions against Russia may have on their cooperation with Rosneft.
http://en.ria.ru
20/9/14
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Related:

• ExxonMobil receives US government agreement to continue Arctic work with Rosneft. Obama administration granted a brief extension

• Exxon Starts "Most Controversial Oil Rig in the World”

• Arctique: Washington souhaite coopérer avec Moscou

• Rosneft to study Arctic’s fauna to protect it during oil exploration

• Rosneft and ExxonMobil approve 4 Arctic projects

• Rosneft gets access to $100bn gas and oil field in Alaska

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• Russia’s Europe-bound energy supplies should stay outside sanctions (Günther Oettinger)

• Russian energy industry to lose $150-200 billion on fresh sanctions (to hit the plans to develop Arctic offshore fields)

• Further US Sanctions May Hamper Russia's Yamal LNG (Report)[20/6/14]

ExxonMobil receives US government agreement to continue Arctic work with Rosneft. Obama administration granted a brief extension

Previously, sources told Bloomberg that ExxonMobil and Rosneft had halted drilling wells on the Arctic shelf....

American ExxonMobil has confirmed receiving the U.S. government’s permission to continue Arctic drilling works together its partner Rosneft which the company was supposed to stop because of U.S. and European sanctions imposed to punish Russia for escalating tensions in Ukraine, the Bloomberg news agency reported with reference to the company’s statement.

On halting drills

Previously, sources told Bloomberg that ExxonMobil and Rosneft had halted drilling wells on the Arctic shelf.

• Russia’s Minister of Natural Resources, Sergei Donskoy, however, has not confirmed that information to journalists.

• "As far as I know, there has been information that drilling could be halted. But these reports have not been confirmed,” Donskoy said.

Rosneft started drilling wells in the Arctic earlier than deadline mentioned in the license. That is why, the minister said, it would be pre-mature to speak about any problems with the license due to disruption of deadlines.
Rosneft and ExxonMobil started drilling on Russia’s northernmost well - Universitetskaya - with the help of West Alpha rig delivered by Norwegian firm North Atlantic Drilling early in August.
Rosneft and North Atlantic Drilling concluded long-term agreements for drilling wells on the Arctic shelf on July 30, 2014.
West Alpha was transported via the Barents, Pechorsk and Kara Seas and installed at a drilling location on the Vostochno-Prinovozemelsky-1 licensed site in the Kara Sea.
http://en.itar-tass.com/economy/750413
19/9/14
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• Facing U.S. sanctions, Exxon winds down drilling in Russian Arctic....

(Reuters) - Exxon Mobil said on Friday it will wind down drilling in Russia's Arctic in the face of U.S. sanctions targeting Western cooperation with Moscow's oil sector, after the Obama administration granted a brief extension to safely mothball its operations. 

Washington intensified sanctions on Russia on Sept. 12 over its intervention in Ukraine. The measures seek to stop billions of dollars worth of cooperation between Western and Russian energy companies on oil drilling in Russia's Arctic, in Siberia and offshore. Companies have until Sept. 26 to stop the work...................................http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/19/us-usa-exxon-russia-idUSKBN0HE27C20140919?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews
19/9/14
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Related:

• Exxon Starts "Most Controversial Oil Rig in the World”

• Arctique: Washington souhaite coopérer avec Moscou

• Rosneft to study Arctic’s fauna to protect it during oil exploration

• Rosneft and ExxonMobil approve 4 Arctic projects

• Rosneft gets access to $100bn gas and oil field in Alaska

Weather forecasts predict colder winter in Europe this year

The upcoming winter in European is expected to be colder than the 2012-2013 winter, Russian federal hydrometeorology and environmental monitoring service (Rosgidromet) said on Tuesday.

“Frequent invasions of cold air with short warm spells are expected,” said Rosgidromet head, Roman Vilfand.

He said that last year’s stable cyclonic weather in the Arctic had ensured the influx of warm air from the Atlantic Ocean. Forecasts for the coming winter say that cyclones in the Arctic will be followed by anticyclones that will “pump” icy wind from the Barents and Kara Seas to Western Europe. The coldest weather is expected in February when air temperatures may drop much below average.
Winter will be also cold in European Russia, in Belarus and Ukraine.

According to Rosgidromet forecasts, the weather in western Ukraine will be colder than usual in November. Colder weather is also forecasted in the Caucasian republics. February will be the coldest winter month.http://en.itar-tass.com/non-political/749856
16/9/14
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Russia dispatches naval force to reopen Arctic base

MOSCOW: Russia on Saturday (Sep 6) sent six ships carrying personnel and equipment to a Soviet-era military base in the Arctic that it is reopening to bolster its presence in the region, Russian news agencies reported. Moscow is ramping up its military presence in the pristine but energy-rich region as other countries such as Canada and Norway are also staking claims to access its resources.

President Vladimir Putin last year ordered the military to return to a base on the far-Northern New Siberian Islands that was abandoned in 1993. On Saturday, a fleet of six ships including two large landing ships set off from the port of Severomorsk in northern Russia, a spokesman for the Western military district, Vadim Serga, told ITAR-TASS news agency. The ships will be accompanied by several icebreakers.

"The main task of the latest expedition by a number of Northern Fleet ships to the Arctic is to deliver staff, equipment and supplies to the taskforce that from this year will serve on the New Siberian islands on a permanent basis," said the northern fleet's commander, Admiral Vladimir Korolyov.

Last year, ten ships went to the New Siberian Islands in September to deliver the first equipment and supplies to rebuild the base on an archipelago where temperatures can fall to -50°C (-58°F).

- AFP/al

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/russia-dispatches-naval/1349466.html

6/9/14 

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Related:

• The Battle for the Arctic /Η αντιπαράθεση με το λιώσιμο των πάγων στην Αρκτικη

• Arctic should not be arena of conflicting interests (Russian lawmaker)

• Rosneft to study Arctic’s fauna to protect it during oil exploration

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• Russia should reinforce guarding of Arctic boundaries.

• Plateau continental arctique: la partie russe serait plus grande de 1,2 M km²

  • Greenpeace-Aktivisten protestieren gegen Gazprom-Ölförderungen.... Zeitgleicher Protest in Berlin und Moskau

• Απόβαση στον Βόρειο Πόλο

• Πολιτική αντιπαράθεση για το λιώσιμο των πάγων στην Αρκτικη

  

Exxon Starts "Most Controversial Oil Rig in the World”

For the oil industry, business comes first. After years of preparation, on Saturday ExxonMobil began drilling a $700 million well in the Kara Sea in Russia’s Arctic. It is Russia’s most northerly well.

In doing so, the oil giant has ignored growing concerns over Russia’s role in the Ukrainian conflict, and the sanctions imposed on its business partner, Rosneft, which is run by a close associate of Putin, Igor Sechin, who is also personally blacklisted.

Indeed, the go ahead shows just how ineffectual the sanctions against Russia really are. Exxon’s excuse is that the contract to hire the rig was signed before sanctions were announced, but the oil giant is still working with Putin’s blacklisted inner circle.

Exxon has also ignored huge questions over whether an oil spill in the region could be contained. And of course it has totally disregarded the issue of climate change and the need to disinvest from fossil fuels in the most ecologically sensitive areas, such as the Arctic.

Not surprisingly, the start of drilling was praised by President Putin, who many people feel has blood on his hands over Ukraine. Putin sang the praises of Exxon, calling it “Russia’s old and reliable partner.”

He also labelled the joint venture as a model of “efficient international cooperation” which Russia was “open to expand.”

Putin added “businesses, including Russian and foreign companies, perfectly realize that and despite certain current political difficulties, pragmatism and common sense prevail, and we are pleased to hear that.”

Rosneft is certainly excited by the Kara Sea drilling. The well, known as Universitetskaya, is the first of as many as 40 offshore wells the Russian company plans to drill in the Arctic by 2018.

Igor Sechin calls the drilling of the Kara Sea well the “most important event of the year for the global oil and gas industry. As a result of this work we are planning to discover a new Kara sea oil province. Developing of the Arctic shelf has a huge multiplicative effect on the whole Russian economy.”

Sechin brags about the so-called vast reserves of the region arguing that “The volume of resources exceeds the oil and gas resources of the Gulf of Mexico, the Brazilian shelf, the shelf of Alaska and Canada, and it will be comparable to the resource base of Saudi Arabia.”

Exxon for its part said it was keen to carry on investing in Russia. “Our cooperation is a long-term one,” a spokesperson said. “We see big benefits here and are ready to work here with your agreement.”

Many environmentalists are outraged by Exxon’s Arctic plans. Gustavo Ampugnani, an Arctic campaigner at Greenpeace, argues that “The West Alpha platform is fast becoming the most controversial oil rig in the world. He added that Exxon and Rosneft’s plan “to drill in the ecologically sensitive Arctic is nothing less than absurd.”
 http://ecowatch.com
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Related:

• Arctique: Washington souhaite coopérer avec Moscou

Arctique: Washington souhaite coopérer avec Moscou

Washington souhaite coopérer avec Moscou dans l'exploration de l'Arctique malgré sa décision de boycotter la 4e réunion du Conseil de l'Arctique qui s'est tenue les 6-7 août en Russie, a déclaré vendredi le secrétaire du Conseil de sécurité de Russie Nikolaï Patrouchev.

"Les Américains n'ont pas expliqué leur absence, mais ils se disent prêts à coopérer en Arctique lors de contacts bilatéraux", a indiqué M.Patrouchev dans une interview à RIA Novosti.
Les Etats-Unis sont le seul pays à ne pas envoyer leur délégation à la 4e réunion du Conseil de l'Arctique à Narian Mar, dans la république autonome des Nenets. Elle a porté sur les moyens de garantir la sécurité en Arctique, la création d'une infrastructure des transports arctiques, le développement de la Voie maritime du Nord, la production de ressources minières et biologiques, la protection de l'environnement arctique et le développement des peuples autochtones du Grand Nord.

• La prochaine réunion du Conseil aura lieu en 2015 dans la ville russe d'Arkhangelsk.

Créé en 1996, le Conseil de l'Arctique regroupe les huit Etats riverains de l'Arctique (Canada, Danemark, Etats-Unis, Finlande, Islande, Norvège, Russie et Suède) et six organisations des peuples autochtones de l'Arctique. Douze pays ont le statut d'observateurs (Allemagne, Espagne, Chine, Corée du Sud, France, Grande-Bretagne, Inde, Italie, Japon, Pays-Bas, Pologne et Singapour).http://fr.ria.ru/world/20140808/202084255.html
8/8/14
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Related:

• Arctic Council Signs Oil Spill Response Deal

• Arctic should not be arena of conflicting interests (Russian lawmaker)

• Moscow to submit Arctic shelf claim to UN in fall - Russian official

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• Rosneft to study Arctic’s fauna to protect it during oil exploration

• The Battle for the Arctic /Η αντιπαράθεση με το λιώσιμο των πάγων στην Αρκτικη

Rosneft to study Arctic’s fauna to protect it during oil exploration

Russia’s largest oil producer Rosneft will monitor marine fauna in the Northern Sea Route in 2014 in a bid to preserve marine life during oil exploration, the company’s press release says.

“The objective of the said studies is collection of data on marine fauna in Rosneft License Areas with a view to building a complete and detailed picture of the baseline environment state and developing a set of environmental controls to be applied during hydrocarbons exploration and production,” Rosneft said in a press release released Wednesday.

Rosneft and ExxonMobil’s joint Arctic Research Center will be charged with organizing the study. The monitoring activities will be conducted on two icebreakers and the research will cover the animals, birds and mammals of northern seas.

The company outlined a set of surveys to be performed, including “marine mammal activity monitoring and registration throughout daylight hours,” “monitoring and registration of other marine animal species' activity,” and “keeping record of visual observations of marine mammals and their activity.”

The survey activities are planned in all northern seas of the Arctic.

In 2011, Rosneft and ExxonMobil signed a strategic cooperation agreement for joint development of the three East Prinovozemelsky blocks in the Kara Sea. As part of the partnership, the Arctic Research and Design Center for Offshore Developments (ARC) joint venture was established to focus on research and development, and to become Russia's first center capable of tackling the difficulties Rosneft will face when exploring shelf deposits.

Earlier this month, ARC and The Marine Mammals Council, a public organization, called entered in a research and development contract for staging polar bear studies in the areas of potential hydrocarbon development projects.
 http://indian.ruvr.ru
23/7/14
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Related:

• The Battle for the Arctic /Η αντιπαράθεση με το λιώσιμο των πάγων στην Αρκτικη

• Arctic should not be arena of conflicting interests (Russian lawmaker)

• Greenpeace sends new protest ship as first Russian Arctic oil arrives

• Russia to create united naval base system for ships, subs in Arctic

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  • Greenpeace Ship Sails to Arctic Kara Sea Despite Ban

Russian energy industry to lose $150-200 billion on fresh sanctions (to hit the plans to develop Arctic offshore fields)

Newly adopted Western sanctions against Russia will inflict at least $150-200 billion of losses upon the Russian energy industry, head of the advisory firm Creon Energy working in this field, Fares Kilzie, told ITAR-TASS.
“These are not some random sanctions - they are solely targeted against Russia’s and Russian energy sector’s sore points,” the expert said. “These are intercorporate sanctions that hit certain companies and certain interests.” In particular, sanctions against Rosneft hit the plans to develop Arctic offshore fields and liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector, while measures against Novatek are aimed at hampering plans with Yamal LNG project.

Meanwhile, Gazprombank will have its equipment and energy plans affected, Kilzie believes.
“Gazprombank does not only hold 49% of Vladivostok LNG - one of its subsidiaries is the United Heavy Machinery Plants (OMZ) operating in import substitution. The companies’ losses will be increasing,” Kilzie said. “All major projects are monopolized by a certain group. A blow to this group’s investments leads to investment losses of others - those who wait for these offshore or LNG projects, namely logistics, transport, technological and technical companies.”
Moreover, the expert is sure sanctions will be expanded and spread onto second-and third-tier companies. 

“I have no doubt at all that the next salvo will be at the second tier. The first tier is the source of ideology and financing for all major energy projects. The second tier comprises contractors. Judging from the sanction list alone, the Russian companies will lose $150-200 billion. Novatek project alone costs more than $20 billion,” said the expert.
According to Kilzie, sanction architects have good understanding of the Russian energy sector. “The list of companies indicates good knowledge of our energy decision-making matrix. Sanctions are really proactive. Modern energy consultants in the West work consistently,” Kilzie said.
http://en.itar-tass.com/world/741115
17/7/14
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Related:

• Further US Sanctions May Hamper Russia's Yamal LNG (Report)[20/6/14]

• Απελευθερώνονται οι Εξαγωγές LNG στη Ρωσία με Απόφαση Πούτιν

• Norway overtakes Russia as Europe’s biggest gas supplier

Arctic should not be arena of conflicting interests (Russian lawmaker)

“The Arctic is a unique region, so, whatever happens on the continent, we must be able to reach compromises,” Vladimir Torlopov said...

The Arctic should be saved from being an arena of conflicting interests of rival countries, Vladimir Torlopov, a members of the international committee of Russia’s Federation Council upper parliament house, told Itar-Tass on Wednesday after a meeting of the Standing Committee of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region.

“The Arctic is a unique region, so, whatever happens on the continent, we must be able to reach compromises,” he said. “Obviously, the Arctic is a future place of difficult solution. Everybody agrees that a consensus is needed. But how this can be done is a problem. Russia is sparing no efforts to have all problems in the Arctic settled in the spirit of cooperation, through talks.”

He said he was satisfied with the friendly atmosphere at the meeting, which “discussed solely issues linked with the Arctic region - the economy, ecology, interests of the indigenous peoples and conservation of bio resources.”

Participants, according to Torlopov, showed interest to a draft international agreement on security of transport and tourist vessels in the Arctic Russia was working on.
The meeting was generally dedicated to agreeing an agenda for the next Conference of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region due to be held in September in Canada.
[COPENHAGEN, June 12 /ITAR-TASS]
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• Greenpeace complaint halts Norway plans to drill northermost oil well

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Greenpeace complaint halts Norway plans to drill northermost oil well

Environmental activists from Greenpeace have blocked plans by Norwegian state-owned oil company Statoil to drill the world’s northernmost oil well, the activists' organization told ITAR-TASS on Monday. Campaigners accuse Statoil of violating the law that bans drilling in ice and near an ice boundary. Russia to apply for Arctic shelf borders in 2015 — minister Sergei Donskoy said.

The halt was called as Transocean operators' Spitsbergen rig made its way towards the site in the Norwegian sector of the Barents Sea. Work is now on hold until a Greenpeace complaint is investigated, said the protest group's press officer, Maria Favorskaya.

Campaigners accuse Statoil of violating the law that bans drilling in ice and near an ice boundary. Norway's Polar Institute had shown the boundary was located just 25 kilometres from Statoil’s licensed area, said Favorskaya.

• Oil production threatens Medvezhiy Island wildlife sanctuary, where the coast could be fouled by an oil spill reaching it from the exploration site within days, Greenpeace says.

This sanctuary of the Svalbard archipelago has been created to preserve a colony of birds and rare sea mammals, one of the largest refuges in the northern hemisphere.

Activists in the new campaign include some of those arrested by the Russian authorities in a protest against drilling by the Prirazlomnaya oil rig in Russian waters several months ago.

This time, aboard the vessel Esperanza, they have already visited Medvezhiy Island. They are now heading for the planned drilling site to ensure the oil company does not start work until the investigation is completed.
[http://indian.ruvr.ru/news]
26/5/14
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• Putin sees room for compromise with Canada on Arctic, but not Ukraine

• The Battle for the Arctic /Η αντιπαράθεση με το λιώσιμο των πάγων στην Αρκτικη

• Rosneft and ExxonMobil approve 4 Arctic projects

• Greenpeace sends new protest ship as first Russian Arctic oil arrives