scholarly journals Caspian or Arctic region: that is the question…

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 427-437
Author(s):  
S. Y. Chernitsyna

The article compares the problems of two strategically important regions for Russia — the Caspian region and the Arctic region. Despite the fact that there are some significant geographical and climate differences, the geopolitical situation in the regions is similar. There are almost identical risks in the development of these regions. Special attention is paid to the issue of ecology in the conditions of active oil and gas production. The question concerning the instruments of regulation of interstate relations is sharply raised. International cooperation is essential in addressing key issues in the regions, such as improving socio-economic conditions, energy distribution and border management. In particular, it is necessary to define a regulatory framework that would meet the new realities in the Arctic. As for the international legal status of the Caspian sea, it was settled by the adoption of the Convention following the summit in 2018. The main difference is that the Caspian region was exposed to the anthropogenic factor much earlier. The lessons learned from the work in the Caspian region can be used in the Arctic region, which can reduce some of the risks associated with the interaction of coastal countries.

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 4913-4951 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. P. Peters ◽  
T. B. Nilssen ◽  
L. Lindholt ◽  
M. S. Eide ◽  
S. Glomsrød ◽  
...  

Abstract. The Arctic sea-ice is retreating faster than predicted by climate models and could become ice free during summer this century. The reduced sea-ice extent may effectively "unlock" the Arctic Ocean to increased human activities such as transit shipping and expanded oil and gas production. Travel time between Europe and the north Pacific Region can be reduced by up to 50% with low sea-ice levels and the use of this route could increase substantially as the sea-ice retreats. Oil and gas activities already occur in the Arctic region and given the large undiscovered petroleum resources increased activity could be expected with reduced sea-ice. We use a detailed global energy market model and a bottom-up shipping model with a sea-ice module to construct emission inventories of Arctic shipping and petroleum activities in 2030 and 2050. The emission inventories are on a 1× 1 degree grid and cover both short-lived pollutants and ozone pre-cursors (SO2, NOx, CO, NMVOC, BC, OC) and the long-lived greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4, N2O). We find rapid growth in transit shipping due to increased profitability with the shorter transit times compensating for increased costs in traversing areas of sea-ice. Oil and gas production remains relatively stable leading to reduced emissions from emission factor improvements. The location of oil and gas production moves into locations requiring more ship transport relative to pipeline transport, leading to rapid emissions growth from oil and gas transport via ship. Our emission inventories for the Arctic region will be used as input into chemical transport, radiative transfer, and climate models to quantify the role of Arctic activities in climate change compared to similar emissions occurring outside of the Arctic region.


2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 5305-5320 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. P. Peters ◽  
T. B. Nilssen ◽  
L. Lindholt ◽  
M. S. Eide ◽  
S. Glomsrød ◽  
...  

Abstract. The Arctic sea-ice is retreating faster than predicted by climate models and could become ice free during summer this century. The reduced sea-ice extent may effectively "unlock" the Arctic Ocean to increased human activities such as transit shipping and expanded oil and gas production. Travel time between Europe and the north Pacific Region can be reduced by up to 50 % with low sea-ice levels and the use of this route could increase substantially as the sea-ice retreats. Oil and gas activities already occur in the Arctic region and given the large undiscovered petroleum resources increased activity could be expected with reduced sea-ice. We use a bottom-up shipping model and a detailed global energy market model to construct emission inventories of Arctic shipping and petroleum activities in 2030 and 2050 given estimated sea-ice extents. The emission inventories are on a 1×1 degree grid and cover both short-lived components (SO2, NOx, CO, NMVOC, BC, OC) and the long-lived greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4, N2O). We find rapid growth in transit shipping due to increased profitability with the shorter transit times compensating for increased costs in traversing areas of sea-ice. Oil and gas production remains relatively stable leading to reduced emissions from emission factor improvements. The location of oil and gas production moves into locations requiring more ship transport relative to pipeline transport, leading to rapid emissions growth from oil and gas transport via ship. Our emission inventories for the Arctic region will be used as input into chemical transport, radiative transfer, and climate models to quantify the role of Arctic activities in climate change compared to similar emissions occurring outside of the Arctic region.


2021 ◽  
pp. 109-127
Author(s):  
Olga P. TRUBITSINA ◽  
◽  
Vladimir N. BASHKIN ◽  

The article is devoted to the issues of geopolitical risks (GPR) in the hydrocarbon development of the Russian Arctic. The authors pay special attention to the analysis of modern geopolitical and geostrategic challenges of the Arctic region development. The article identifies the key geopolitical factors that affect the sustainable development of the Arctic and analyzes the similarities and differences in the geostrategic positions of the Arctic Five. One of the most important factors of the XXI century that determines the alignment and interaction of various geopolitical forces is the struggle for resources. In this regard, an increase in GPR in the Arctic, related to its resource potential, is inevitable. For oil and gas industry facilities, GPR can be transformed into opposite environmental factors in the form of additional opportunities or threats, which the authors identify in detail for each type of risk. The authors focus on such positions of the GPR, which are related to ensuring access and obtaining control rights over the Arctic's hydrocarbon resources from different countries, the uncertainty of the legal status of the Arctic region, and the use of geoecological risks (GER) as manipulative priorities of attention to Russia's actions in the Arctic.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (24) ◽  
pp. 8300
Author(s):  
Natalia Romasheva ◽  
Diana Dmitrieva

According to the forecasts made by IEA, BP, and Total in early 2021, the demand for hydrocarbons will continue for decades, and their share in the global energy balance will remain significant. Russia, as a key player in the energy market, is interested in maintaining and increasing hydrocarbon production, so further exploitation of the Arctic energy resources is an urgent issue. A large number of onshore oil and gas projects have been successfully implemented in the Arctic since the 1930s, while recently, special attention has been paid to the offshore energy resources and implementation of natural gas liquefaction projects. However, the implementation of oil and gas projects in the Arctic is characterized by a negative impact on the environment, which leads to a violation of the ecological balance in the Arctic, and affects the stability of its ecosystem, which is one of the most vulnerable ecosystems on the planet. The main goal of the present study is to understand how the implementation of oil and gas projects in the Arctic affects the ecosystem, to assess the significance of this process, and to find out what the state and business could do to minimize it. In the article, the authors analyze energy trends, provide brief information about important oil and gas projects being implemented in the Arctic region of Russia, and investigate the challenges of the oil and gas projects’ development and its negative impacts on the Arctic environment. The main contributions of this paper are the identification of all possible environmental risks and processes accompanying oil and gas production, and its qualitative analysis and recommendations for the state and business to reduce the negative impact of oil and gas projects on the Arctic ecosystem. The research methodology includes desk studies, risk management tools (such as risk analysis, registers, and maps), brainstorming, the expert method, systematization, comparative analysis, generalization, and grouping.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 964
Author(s):  
Chernitsyna Sofiya YURIEVNA

The research compares the problems of two strategically important regions for Russia-the Caspian region and the Arctic region. Despite the fact that there are some significant geographical and climate differences, the geopolitical situation in the regions is similar. There are almost identical risks in the development of these regions. The main difference is that the Caspian region was exposed to the anthropogenic factor much earlier. The lessons learned from the work in the Caspian region can be used in the Arctic region, which can reduce some of the risks associated with the interaction of coastal countries.


Resources ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pavel Poletskov ◽  
Marina Gushchina ◽  
Marina Polyakova ◽  
Daniil Alekseev ◽  
Olga Nikitenko ◽  
...  

Gas and oil pipelines for the Arctic region must sustain low temperatures and high internal pressures of a corrosive active medium. Generation of new steel compositions for oil and gas pipelines is an urgent issue in order to ensure their high reliability. Low-carbon steels with a ferritic–pearlitic structure are normally used in pipe production, but they are unable to cope with increased market demands. The main objective of this study is to investigate the influence of the cooling rate on the structure and morphological characteristics of bainite, which determines the exploitation properties of the pipe steels. Dilatometric tests were carried out using a Gleeble 3500 complex. Optical microscope and scanning electron microscope analysis, with the computer image analysis system Thixomet PRO, were used to study the microstructure of steel. Hardness was measured in accordance with ASTM E-384. Morphological characteristics of bainite components that were formed at various cooling rates from 0.05 to 100 °С/s were defined. The novel result of this study is the continuous cooling transformation diagram of undercooled austenite of the steel containing 0.062% С; 1.80% Mn; 0.120% Mo; 0.032% Cr, 0.90% Ni and other elements (Al, Cu, V, Nb, Ti).


2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 605 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergey Anatolievich AGARKOV ◽  
Sergey Yurievich KOZMENKO ◽  
Anton Nikolaevich SAVELIEV ◽  
Mikhail Vasilyevich ULCHENKO ◽  
Asya Aleksandrovna SHCHEGOLKOVA

In the conditions of price reduction in the world energy market, the issue of determining the priorities of the economic development of hydrocarbons in the Arctic Region of the Russian Federation (RF) becomes highly relevant. The article is aimed at developing an optimal model for the spatial organization of energy resources in the Arctic Region. The expert elicitation procedure was used to determine the efficiency indicators for the economic development of the oil-and-gas-bearing areas in the Arctic Region and clusterization of these areas was carried out in terms of economic efficiency. Based on the factor analysis, the degree of influence of efficiency indicators on the economic development of the oil and gas bearing areas of the region was determined and, an integrated performance indicator of economic development for oil-and-gas-bearing areas for each cluster was calculated with regard to the factor loadings. A 3-D model was developed for the organization of economic development of oil and gas in the Arctic Region. The 3-D model became the basis for determining the priorities for territorial exploration, development and production of hydrocarbons in terms of their economic efficiency, taking into account the trends in the development of the world energy market and break-even fields. A set of recommendations was developed to improve the efficiency of the spatial organization of economic development of oil and gas in the Arctic Region. The implementation of the proposed measures can contribute to the development of the oil and gas industry in the region, its socio-economic development and the long-term sustainability of Russia's energy security.


Subject Prospects for the hydrocarbons sector under the new government Significance After three years of GDP contraction, a new government is pursuing increased foreign investment in hydrocarbons, to boost employment and growth and to repair the budget. In the long term, Greenland is likely to emerge as an international shipping, mining and hydrocarbons centre. For now, the fall in the international oil price has seen oil exploration stop. The wish for economic development is leading a new generation of Greenlandic politicians to embark on re-integration with the EU, where a ban on seal products is the greatest obstacle to closer ties. Impacts Infrastructure and climate challenges mean that full-scale oil and gas production is at least 15-20 years away. Emerging Greenland-China economic ties may create a new alignment in the opening up of the Arctic. A relaxation of the EU seal products ban would ease negotiations on Greenland's further integration with the bloc. Enhanced EU-Greenland ties could extend the EU's role in the Arctic.


2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 380-402
Author(s):  
Natalie Dobson ◽  
Seline Trevisanut

Abstract The effects of global warming in the Arctic region present a particular challenge for the European Union (EU), which seeks to profile itself as a leader in responding to climate change. Although the EU strives to prioritize climate protection, the Arctic region remains one of the EU’s major suppliers of energy, particularly oil and gas. The EU must thus strike a balance between climate change mitigation and adaptation, and energy security. The present article analyses the developments of the EU position in this field, particularly in light of the COP 21 negotiations, and the more recent 2016 Integrated European Union Policy for the Arctic. In doing so it seeks to explore to what extent the EU truly is fulfilling its own leadership aspirations in the field of climate change and energy in the Arctic.


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