Why are bulk islands used in Russia? Four artificial islands will be created in the Barents Sea Artificial islands will be created in the Barents Sea
Four artificial islands will be created in the Kola Bay of the Barents Sea. The corresponding order was signed by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on June 15. The construction of new islands was entrusted to the Kola Shipyard company.
The Center for the Construction of Large-Capacity Offshore Structures will operate on the islands themselves, where complexes for offshore mining will be created.
“The center is intended for the production marine complexes for the production, storage and shipment of liquefied natural gas and stable gas condensate on gravity-type foundations, offshore production complexes, as well as repair and maintenance of marine equipment and equipment used for the development of offshore oil and gas condensate fields,” the Cabinet website clarifies.
Kola Shipyard is a subsidiary of Novatek, which decided to invest 25 billion rubles in the project. The project will help create about 10 thousand jobs and attract new investments to the region.
Experience available
Russia began to create artificial islands several centuries ago, both to expand its territory and for military purposes. At the beginning of the 18th century, Turtle Island was built in the Sea of Azov, where the citadel was located. Later the island lost its strategic importance, but parts of it can still be seen at low tide.
And today in Russia the creation of artificial land plots. Director of environmental programs of the Green Patrol, Roman Pukalov, noted that there are already similar successful projects in Russia. Thus, embankment dams were created in the Kerch Strait during the construction of the Crimean Bridge.
“There were similar projects, the same Tuzlinskaya Spit, which goes from Taman towards Kerch - this is largely an artificial structure. When was it built Kerch Bridge, the spit expanded, was replenished and modified,” explains the expert.
- globallookpress.com
- Serguei Fomine
The bridge across the Kerch Strait will connect Crimea and Krasnodar region. It is planned that it will become the longest in Russia. Its length will be 19 km. Motorists will be able to try out the new bridge in December 2018.
The builders have already completed the assembly of the railway arch.
Projects for a better life
In 2006, expansion of the western part of Vasilyevsky Island began in St. Petersburg. The area of the new territories of the island will be about 476 hectares. The project, called Marine Façade, is one of the world's largest coastal development projects.
- www.mfspb.ru
The expansion of the island has not yet ended, but there is already a specialized sea port, which is popular among foreign tourists.
In the future, residential buildings, schools, hospitals and commercial facilities will also be built on this part of the island.
Solving many problems
As Sergei Pikin, director of the Energy Development Fund, notes, this is an important step for Russia, since there are currently not many similar projects operating in our country. In addition, according to the expert, artificial land will help simplify production natural resources, since the necessary complexes will be located on them.
“The system of constructing artificial islands is the most advantageous, because it will help solve many problems associated with infrastructure,” the expert believes.
Ecologist Roman Pukalov notes that such construction requires not only a well-thought-out project, but also an independent environmental assessment.
“The Kola Bay is a natural environment; we need to look very carefully at how the current flows through the bay itself, whether this will impede the movement of aquatic organisms, and when the work will be carried out in order to avoid the disturbance factor during the spawning period. This needs to be thought through very carefully,” says the ecologist.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree on the creation of the Barents Sea in the Kola Bay seas of four artificial islands. According to experts, this will significantly simplify the development of mineral deposits located in this region. However, this is not the first such project in Russia. RT found out for what other purposes the new land is being created.
- © Wikimedia/Tom Thiel
Four artificial islands will be created in the Kola Bay of the Barents Sea. The corresponding order was signed by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on June 15. The construction of new islands was entrusted to the Kola Shipyard company
On the islands themselves there will be a “Center for the Construction of Large-Capacity Offshore Structures”, where complexes for offshore mining will be created.
“The center is intended for the manufacture of offshore complexes for the production, storage and shipment of liquefied natural gas and stable gas condensate on gravity-type foundations, offshore production complexes, as well as repair and maintenance of marine equipment and equipment used for the development of offshore oil and gas condensate fields,” it is specified on Cabinet website.
Kola Shipyard is a subsidiary of Novatek, which decided to invest 25 billion rubles in the project. The project will help create about 10 thousand jobs and attract new investments to the region.
Experience available
Russia began creating artificial islands several centuries ago, both to expand territories and for military purposes. At the beginning of the 18th century, Turtle Island was built in the Sea of Azov, where the citadel was located. The island later lost its strategic importance, but today parts of it can still be seen at low tide.
And today in Russia the creation of artificial land plots is actively underway. Director of environmental programs of the Green Patrol, Roman Pukalov, noted that there are already similar successful projects in Russia. Thus, embankment dams were created in the Kerch Strait during the construction of the Crimean Bridge.
“There were similar projects, the same Tuzlinskaya Spit, which goes from Taman towards Kerch - this is largely an artificial structure. While building the Kerch Bridge, the spit expanded, filled up and changed,” explains the expert.
- globallookpress.com
- © Serguei Fomine
The bridge across the Kerch Strait will connect Crimea and the Krasnodar Territory. It is planned that it will become the longest in Russia. Its length will be 19 km. Motorists will be able to try out the new bridge in December 2018.
As RT reported, builders have already completed the assembly of the railway arch.
Projects for a better life
In 2006, expansion of the western part of Vasilyevsky Island began in St. Petersburg. The area of the new territories of the island will be about 476 hectares. The project, called "Marine Façade", is one of the largest coastal development projects in the world.
- © www.mfspb.ru
The expansion of the island has not yet been completed, but there is already a specialized seaport operating there, which is popular among foreign tourists.
In the future, residential buildings, schools, hospitals and commercial facilities will also be built on this part of the island.
Solving many problems
As Sergei Pikin, director of the Energy Development Fund, notes, this is an important step for Russia, since this moment There are not many similar projects in our country yet. In addition, according to the expert, artificial land plots will help simplify the extraction of natural resources, since the necessary complexes will be located on them.
“The system of constructing artificial islands is the most advantageous, because it will help solve many problems associated with infrastructure,” the expert believes.
Ecologist Roman Pukalov notes that such construction requires not only a well-thought-out project, but also an independent environmental assessment.
“The Kola Bay is a natural environment; we need to look very carefully at how the current flows through the bay itself, whether this will interfere with the movement of aquatic organisms, and when the work will be carried out in order to avoid disturbance factors during the spawning period. This all needs to be thought through very carefully,” says the ecologist.
Why spend a lot of money to create artificial embankments in the Kola Bay?Comment on the material:
Igor Yushkov
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree on the creation of four artificial islands in the Kola Bay of the Barents Sea. They will be poured by Kola Shipyard LLC (a subsidiary of Novatek OJSC). The corresponding document was published on the government website. It follows from it that the Kola Shipyard is going to conclude an agreement with Rosmorrechflot. And the islands are poured in for a reason, but for the implementation of a project called “Center for the Construction of Large-Capacity Offshore Structures.”
It was previously reported that Novatek would invest more than 25 billion rubles in the project. The project provides for the creation of a specialized shipyard capable of producing unique offshore objects - gravity-type reinforced concrete platforms for LNG plants, drilling and production platforms for offshore projects in the western sector of the Arctic and large-tonnage structures to support the operation of the Northern Arctic. sea route. It is expected that the construction of the Center will create about 10 thousand jobs, increase tax revenues to the budget, attract additional investments to the region and contribute to the process of import substitution and localization of technologies.
The islands are planned to be created near the village of Belokamenka in the Murmansk region. They will be built as part of the Arctic-LNG-1 and Arctic-LNG-2 projects, which involve, in particular, the development of the Gydana field in the Ob Bay of the Kara Sea. Construction of the shipyard could begin before the end of the year, with the first floating LNG plants to be laid down in 2018. The construction of the Center for the Construction of Large-Capacity Offshore Structures is planned to be completed by 2020.
The first question that arises when reading this information is - why invest billions in the construction of new islands? We are not in Japan, where there is not enough land.
Residents of the Murmansk region are skeptical about the news. Here’s what Igor Opimakh, a journalist from the city of Polyarny, writes on Facebook: “Have you all read it? Medvedev ordered the construction of four islands in the Barents Sea. On the government website they specify: in the middle knee of the Kola Bay. It looks like the Khan will come to Roslyakov Bay and especially to Gryaznaya Bay, it’s shallow there, the best thing to do is fill up the drain and make profanity: we have created artificial islands.
Indeed, the idea of building islands raises many questions, says Igor Yushkov, leading expert of the National Energy Security Fund, teacher at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation. - Initially, the project was announced differently - it was assumed that gas liquefaction work would be carried out on the shore of the Kola Bay in the village of Belokamenka. It was planned to build two dry docks there and lay the foundations for gas liquefaction plants. These units were to be delivered to the Gulf of Ob and connected into a single LNG plant, the gas for which would be supplied from fields in this area. In particular, from the Gydan Peninsula.
Novatek has already won several auctions for the development of gas fields, having previously lobbied for the condition that gas from these fields must be liquefied. And since, apart from this company, no one in Russia is particularly involved in the construction of LNG plants, Novotek is, in fact, the only participant in these auctions.
Now, in order to develop the resulting resource base, the company is concerned with the construction of what is officially called the “Center for the Construction of Large-Capacity Offshore Structures.” Although it is unclear what will be built there. At first they said that there would only be the lower part of that same floating platform. Then - that there will be some kind of upper superstructure. But why artificial islands are needed for this is difficult to understand. Moreover, the amount allocated for this is very large.
"SP": - In general, is the Arctic LNG project expensive?
The original meaning of the project to build a Center in the Kola Bay was precisely to implement it in a fairly developed region of the Arctic. That is, to develop and modernize something that has already been built, saving on it. Otherwise, it was possible to create everything from scratch closer to the place of gas production - in Yamal.
Novotek has repeatedly stated that Arctic LNG will be one third cheaper than Yamal LNG, which is already being sold. It was planned to achieve cost reduction by locating gas liquefaction plants on gravity platforms. Apparently, using the example of Yamal LNG, they realized that building a plant on land in permafrost conditions is not a cheap pleasure. Especially in conditions when the permafrost is melting, and the land under the LNG plant can turn into a swamp.
And a significant part of the equipment has to be delivered by plane. Just recently, another Ruslan landed in Yamal with 70 tons of equipment on board. All this is difficult and expensive.
In addition, the Yamal-LNG project involves very diverse cooperation: gas liquefaction technology was taken from the Americans, the liquefaction units themselves were assembled in China, which were then transported to Yamal to the port of Sabetta.
I think that Novatek is trying to attract investors with the project to build a floating LNG plant. However, when the Yamal LNG project was being implemented, hydrocarbons were expensive, so it was not difficult to find investors. Now the picture is different. The company is trying to save money by making the project purely domestic. And at the same time create a Center for LNG Technologies. That is, on the one hand, they strive to fit into the import substitution program, and on the other, to attract foreign investors. Thus, there is a chance to receive money from the state, which will go towards the development of the Murmansk transport hub.
I think that Novatek still wants to rehabilitate itself in the eyes of the Russian government in the sense that Yamal LNG was almost entirely implemented using imported equipment and with the participation of foreign companies - German, American, Chinese - there was not much Russian there . Despite the fact that the construction of the port of Sabetta and dredging work were carried out at public expense. That is, there was “nationalization of costs” and “privatization” of profits from the project. This time they want to show that everything will be different, but no one has yet clearly explained why bulk islands are needed. That is, a “frugal” project begins with questionable expenses.
"SP": - How can sanctions affect the LNG-Arctic project? Is it known that the United States has imposed a ban on the supply of equipment for hydrocarbon production on the shelf?
Sanctions so far apply only to oil production, although it is often difficult to separate it from gas production. Usually these types of hydrocarbons are adjacent. Even during the Barack Obama administration, the Europeans persuaded the Americans not to impose sanctions on the Russian gas industry. In addition, the fields that Novatek is currently developing are mainly located in the Gulf of Ob and are considered not shelf, but simply offshore. However, as far as I have information, all deliveries for this project have already been completed. The company was in a hurry to purchase equipment in advance in case the Americans nevertheless imposed sanctions on the gas production industry in Russia.
"SP": - Does the state bear the risks if the projects of the private company Novotek turn out to be unprofitable?
State participation in the company is slightly less than 10%. If we talk about the Yamal LNG project, the state has allocated about 300 billion rubles for its implementation. If we assume that due to a sharp decline in hydrocarbon prices, Arctic gas production will be unprofitable for a long time and the company will go bankrupt, then returning this amount to the state is quite problematic. In addition, for quite a long time, Novatek is exempt from paying export duties and from the mineral extraction tax (mineral extraction tax). So far, the state has received very little from Novatek’s Arctic projects.
So far, very little information about the project has been brought to our attention,” says Sergei Pravosudov, director of the Institute of National Energy. - I think that literally a few specialists close to the management of Novatek are devoted to the details. It is known that the bet will be made not on stationary LNG on shore, but on a floating platform. But why bulk islands are needed, and even so far from the place of gas production, is completely unclear. For example, a company Royal Dutch Shell is implementing a similar project with a floating LNG plant in Australia, but does not plan to fill up any islands for this.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev ordered build four new islands in the Barents Sea. They will produce equipment for the production and storage of natural gas.
The government order states that in accordance with Article 7 of the Federal Law “On artificial land plots created on water bodies in federal ownership and on amendments to certain legislative acts Russian Federation"to determine that Rosmorrechflot concludes agreements with the limited liability company "Kola Shipyard" on the creation of 4 artificial land plots in the Kola Bay (middle knee) of the Barents Sea for the purpose of construction and operation of the facilities "Center for the Construction of Large-Capacity Offshore Structures (TSSKMS). Complex for the manufacture of gravity-type foundations and integration of modules of upper structures" without holding an open auction for the right to conclude such contracts.
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New plots of land will appear in the Kola Bay by 2020, and the cost of the project is estimated at 25 billion rubles. The government guarantees that not a single penny from the budget will leak into the Barents Sea - Kola Shipyard LLC, a subsidiary of NOVATEK, will invest in the project. The company did not go through any competitive procedures - at the disposal of the prime minister it is listed as the only contractor.
On artificial islands in the Kola Bay there will be a Center for the Construction of Large-Capacity Offshore Structures, which will be engaged in the manufacture of offshore complexes for the production, storage and shipment of liquefied natural gas in the Murmansk region, as well as the repair and maintenance of marine equipment. The prime minister’s order states that the new facilities will create about 10,000 jobs in the Arctic, as well as “increase tax revenues to budgets of all levels,” attract investment to the region and develop new technologies in production. It is known that construction will be carried out within the framework of the Arctic LNG project for the development of Arctic gas shelves, and the Gydan field will serve as the resource base for the center on the islands. It is planned that about 16.5 million tons of liquefied natural gas will be produced there annually.
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NOVATEK reports that the Company's subsidiary Arctic LNG-1 LLC won the auction for the right to use the subsoil of the Gydansky site for the purpose of geological study, exploration and production of hydrocarbons. The license is issued for a period of 27 years. Based on the results of the auction, the one-time payment for the use of subsoil was determined at the level of RUB 2,262 million.
The company already has a significant raw material base on the Gydan Peninsula, including the Utrenneye, Geofizicheskoye and Ladertoyskoye fields, as well as the Trekhbugorny, Nyavuyakhsky, West Solpatinsky, Tanamsky and North Tanamsky areas. The Gydansky site is located in close proximity to the Utrenneye field, which will serve as a resource base for the Arctic LNG-2 project. Obtaining a license for the Gydansky area allows us to significantly increase NOVATEK’s resource base on the Gydan Peninsula and consider new large-scale LNG projects of the Company. According to the Russian classification, the total resource potential of the site is 4,740 million barrels of oil equivalent of hydrocarbons.
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Licenses for the development of the Geophysical and Salmanovskoye (Utrenneye) fields on the Gydan Peninsula were acquired in September 2011 and are valid until 2031.
The Salmanovskoye (Utrenneye) field, located in the northern part of the Gydan Peninsula and partly in the waters of the Ob Bay in close proximity to the South Tambeyskoye field, was discovered in 1980. In terms of recoverable reserves, it is the largest of the fields currently discovered on the Gydan Peninsula, and consists of 34 deposits, including 16 gas, 15 gas condensate, 2 oil and gas condensate and 1 oil. The proven reserves of the field according to SEC standards as of the end of 2014 amounted to 259.8 billion cubic meters. m of gas and 9.6 million tons of liquid hydrocarbons.
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The geophysical oil and gas condensate field, located in the middle part of the Gydan Peninsula on the coast of the Gulf of Ob, was discovered in 1975 and consists of 35 deposits, including 19 gas, 12 gas condensate, 3 oil and 1 oil and gas condensate. The proven reserves of the field according to SEC standards as of the end of 2014 amounted to 125.6 billion cubic meters. m of gas and 0.4 million tons of liquid hydrocarbons.
In December 2014, Arctic LNG 1 LLC (a subsidiary of the Company) won an auction for the right to use the subsoil of the Trekhbugorny area, located on the Gydan Peninsula and bordering the Geophysical license area of the Company. The reserves of the Trekhbugorny area according to categories C1+C2 of the Russian classification amount to 5.9 billion cubic meters. m of natural gas, extractable resources exceed 1 trillion cubic meters. m of gas and 90 million tons of liquid hydrocarbons.
In 2016, NOVATEK continued full-scale geological exploration work in areas on the Gydan Peninsula in order to clarify the resource potential of this region, which is strategically important for the Company. During the period 2014-2016. A total of 5 wells were drilled at the Utrenneye field, the results of their testing allowed to increase the reserves of the field and confirm the higher productivity of the wells.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev approved a plan of priority measures for the creation in the Barents Sea of a Center for the construction of large-capacity offshore structures - artificial islands on which gas production, as well as the operation and repair of marine equipment, will be carried out.
“The center is intended for the manufacture of offshore complexes for the production, storage and shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and stable gas condensate on gravity-type foundations, offshore production complexes, as well as repair and maintenance of marine equipment and equipment used for the development of offshore oil and gas condensate fields,” - indicated in the message of the Cabinet of Ministers.
The document also explains that the construction of artificial land plots in the Kola Bay is necessary to accommodate the center’s facilities. Artificial land plots will be created at the expense of Kola Shipyard LLC’s own funds. The volume of capital investments for the project will amount to more than 25 billion rubles.
Kola Shipyard LLC received permission from Rosmorrechflot to create artificial land plots on a water body. The signed order of Kola Shipyard LLC determined the person with whom Rosmorrechflot will enter into an agreement on the creation of four artificial land plots in the Kola Bay of the Barents Sea,” the text explains.
In addition, the explanatory note states that the construction of the center will create about 10 thousand jobs at the shipyard itself, increase tax revenues to budgets of all levels, attract additional investment to the region, and develop new high-tech production.
The administrative address of the facility will be the village of Belokamenka in the closed administrative-territorial formation of Aleksandrovsk, Murmansk region. In addition, it recommended that the federal executive authorities, the authorities of the Murmansk region and local self-government help in reducing the time required for registering land plots for the construction of the center, as well as the time required for conducting examinations and issuing permits. Local authorities have also been asked to consider providing tax relief on taxes.
Construction in Belokamenka will be carried out as part of the Arctic LNG project, which involves the production of 16.5 million tons of liquefied natural gas per year. The resource base for it will be the Gydan deposits. Deputy Chairman of the Board of NOVATEK Denis Khramov previously said that together with Yamal LNG (the company’s second gas liquefaction project of similar capacity), Arctic LNG will be able to occupy about 7% of the global liquefied gas market.
In July 2015, the Russian Minister of Natural Resources wrote to the Prime Minister in which he proposed a review of existing restrictions on the access of non-state companies to the Murmansk gas field in the Barents Sea.
According to Donskoy, after the decree of the Russian President on liberalizing access to the shelf, proposals on this topic were submitted to the government for consideration, but no final decision was made. The President, who, along with Gazprom, was issued documents giving the right to explore and develop fields, previously expressed protest against the appearance of other companies on the shelf.
According to the director of Small Letters, the shelf field in Murmansk will only be effective in the form of a project focused on the export of liquefied natural gas. Currently, Rosneft and Yamal LNG have permission to export LNG.
A year earlier, it was reported that Gazprom and Rosneft received rights to two shelf areas.
In August 2014, Gazprom received the right to use the Kheisovsky subsoil plot with an area of 83,590 square meters. km located in the Barents Sea. Forecast resources for oil are 393.7 million tons (geological resources) and 118.1 million tons (recoverable resources), for gas - 2081.4 billion cubic meters. m, for condensate - 32.6 million tons (geological resources) and 22.8 million tons (recoverable resources). At the same time, Rosneft was granted the rights to use the Pritaimyrsky subsoil plot with an area of 20,619 square meters. km in the Laptev Sea. The Pritaimyrsky area has predicted geological oil resources of 348.6 million tons, recoverable resources - 104.6 million tons, gas - 362.8 billion cubic meters. m.
