Power supply and control systems for subsea production complexes in Arctic offshore fields

The subsea type of arrangement is no alternative for remote deep-sea oil and gas fields of the Arctic shelf. One of the main factors determining the level of reliability of year-round production of hydrocarbons using subsea production complexes is the availability of effective control and power supply systems. In this article the current state of subsea production complexes is studied, possible ways to develop power supply and control systems are analyzed in order to increase their efficiency and reliability when used in deep-water remote fields of the Arctic shelf.

Study of the metocean conditions for the Russian Arctic Shelf development projects approaches and results: Review for the period of 2012-2021

The FSBI AARI is the leading State Scientific Center of Russia, which is involved in studying the natural environment of the Polar Regions and its impact on human activity for over a century. In the last 30 years, the new sphere of activity, dealing with the specialized metocean (including ice) surveys for the purpose of Arctic Offshore Development was successfully developed here. For the most important Arctic Offshore projects the full set of these specialized studies was conducted by the Institution. The paper gives an overview of AARI’s scientific and applied scope and tasks, a general chronology of the surveys on the Russian Arctic Shelf since 1990-s, a description of the main study methods, and an overview of the main results of studies for the last ten years (2012-2021). It is demonstrated that the role of detailed ice and metocean surveys is often determinative in sense of design and construction of Arctic Offshore objects.

Biogeochemical consequences of a changing Arctic shelf seafloor ecosystem

Unprecedented and dramatic transformations are occurring in the Arctic in response to climate change, but academic, public, and political discourse has disproportionately focussed on the most visible and direct aspects of change, including sea ice melt, permafrost thaw, the fate of charismatic megafauna, and the expansion of fisheries. Such narratives disregard the importance of less visible and indirect processes and, in particular, miss the substantive contribution of the shelf seafloor in regulating nutrients and sequestering carbon. Here, we summarise the biogeochemical functioning of the Arctic shelf seafloor before considering how climate change and regional adjustments to human activities may alter its biogeochemical and ecological dynamics, including ecosystem function, carbon burial, or nutrient recycling. We highlight the importance of the Arctic benthic system in mitigating climatic and anthropogenic change and, with a focus on the Barents Sea, offer some observations and our perspectives on future management and policy.

Contactless information interaction of underwater monitoring means using laser communications.

The modern policy of the Russian Federation on subsoil use on the Arctic shelf, as well as the need in the coming years to begin exploration and further operation of identified oil and gas fields in accordance with the offshore projects of the South, Arctic and Far Eastern Seas, using domestic equipment, based on universal underwater vehicles (PA) only confirms this. To develop a strategy for the creation of multifunctional equipment, it is necessary to monitor the accuracy characteristics of sensors and measurement methods in the hydrosphere. Based on the results of the studies, it is possible to conclude those preferences that will ensure the greatest effectiveness of measurements in the aquatic environment for the development of the Arctic shelf. The article considers the existing methodology of measurements at the working depths of the world’s oceans and analyses the specified efficiency of sensors, the principle of operation of which covers the use of technologies for creating and functioning in various physical fields.

Best Practices of Oil and Gas Companies to Develop Gas Fields on the Arctic Shelf

The development of the hydrocarbon potential of the Arctic shelf is one of the priority tasks for Russia, forming the conditions for its strategic presence in the region. Russia's official energy documents stipulate the need to increase oil and gas production in the Arctic, including offshore production, to ensure the stable operation of the country's oil and gas complex in the long term. However, the development of hydrocarbon fields on the Arctic shelf is a serious technological challenge for the domestic oil and gas in-dustry. While offshore oil production in the Russian Arctic is already underway, natural gas production remains a promising future target. The article analyses the current gas projects on the Arctic shelf in terms of their technological complexity and unique solutions, and the strategies of operators to attract foreign participants to the project. We consider these in the contexts of technological issues, organizational features, securing foreign investment. The author believes that the provisions and conclusions of this study will help add to the comprehensive picture of the foreign oil and gas companies experience engaged in natural gas production on the Arctic shelf, which will minimise the errors and risks in the development of hydrocarbon resources on the Russian Arctic seas shelf.

Methane-Derived Authigenic Carbonates on the Seafloor of the Laptev Sea Shelf

Seafloor authigenic carbonate crusts are widespread in various oceanic and marine settings, excluding high-latitude basins that are corrosive to carbonate precipitation. Newly formed carbonate formations are relatively rare in modern Arctic marine sediments. Although the first-order principles of seep carbonate formation are currently quite well constrained, little is known regarding the duration or mode of carbonate formation in the Siberian Arctic shelf. Large (massive slabs or blocks) and small crusts that were micrite cemented have been recently discovered on the seafloor of the Siberian Arctic seas within the area of known seep activity in the outer Laptev Sea shelf. Cold methane seeps were detected in the area due to the presence of an acoustic anomaly in the water column (gas flares). Microbial mats, methane gas bubbles, and carbonate crusts were observed using a towed camera platform. Here, we report new geochemical and mineralogical data on authigenic shallow Siberian Arctic cold-seep carbonate crusts to elucidate its genesis. The Laptev Sea carbonate crusts mainly consist of high-Mg calcite (up to 23 mol % MgCO3). The δ13C values in carbonates range significantly (from –40.1 to –25.9‰ VPDB), while the δ18O values vary in a narrow range (+4.4 ± 0.2‰ VPDB). The δ13C values of Corg that was determined from carbonates range from –40.2 to –31.1‰ VPDB. Using the isotope data and taking into account the geological setting, we consider that not only microbial but possibly thermogenic methane participated in the authigenic carbonate precipitation. Carbonate crust formation occurred below the water/sediment interface of the shallow Siberian Arctic shelf as a result of gas hydrate dissociation during Holocene warming events. The studied carbonate crusts were exhumated after precipitation into shallow subsurface shelf sediments.