Why are bulk islands used in Russia? Why are bulk islands used in russia Three artificial islands in the Barents Sea

Why spend huge money to create artificial embankments in the Kola Bay?

The material is commented on:
Igor Yushkov
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree to create four artificial islands in the Kola Bay of the Barents Sea. They will be poured by OOO Kolskaya Verf (a subsidiary of OAO Novatek). The corresponding document was published on the government website. It follows from it that Kolskaya Verf is going to conclude an agreement with Rosmorrechflot. And the islands are poured for a reason, but for the implementation of a project called "Center for the construction of large-capacity offshore structures."

Earlier it was reported that Novatek is investing in the project over 25 billion rubles. The project provides for the creation of a specialized shipyard capable of producing unique offshore facilities - reinforced concrete gravity-type platforms for LNG plants, drilling and production platforms for offshore projects in the western sector of the Arctic and large-scale structures to support the operation of the Northern Sea Route. It is assumed 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 facilitate 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 within the framework of the Arctic-LNG-1 and Arctic-LNG-2 projects, involving, in particular, the development of the Gydana field in the Ob Bay of the Kara Sea. Construction of the shipyard may 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-scale 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 don't have Japan, where there is not enough land.

Residents of the Murmansk region are skeptical about the news. Here is what a journalist from the city of Polyarny Igor Opimakh writes on Facebook: “Have you read everything? Medvedev ordered the construction of four islands in the Barents Sea. On the website of the government they specify: in the middle knee of the Kola Bay. It seems that the khana will come to Roslyakov's lip and especially to the Gryaznaya lip, it's shallow there, the very thing is to fill up the drainage and profanfar: we have created artificial islands.

Indeed, the idea of \u200b\u200bbuilding islands raises many questions, - says Igor Yushkov, a leading expert of the National Energy Security Fund, lecturer at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation. - Initially, the project was announced differently - it was assumed that the work on gas liquefaction would be carried out on the coast of the Kola Bay in the village of Belokamenka. It was planned to build two dry docks there, lay the foundations for gas liquefaction plants. These installations were supposed to be delivered to the Gulf of Ob, to be combined into a single LNG plant, gas for which will 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 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 obtained resource base, the company has attended to the construction of what is officially called the "Center for the construction of large-scale offshore structures." Although what will be built there is not clear. At first they said - there will be only 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: Is the Arctic LNG project expensive in general?

The initial meaning of the project for the construction of the 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 this. 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. The cost reduction was planned to be achieved due to the location of gas liquefaction plants on gravity platforms. Apparently, based on the example of Yamal-LNG, they realized that building a plant on land in permafrost conditions is not a cheap pleasure. Especially when the permafrost is melting and the land under the LNG plant can turn into a swamp.

And also a significant part of the equipment has to be delivered by air. More recently, another Ruslan with 70 tons of equipment on board has landed on Yamal. All this is difficult and expensive.

In addition, the Yamal LNG project has a very diverse cooperation: the technology for liquefying gas was taken from the Americans, the liquefaction plants 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 a 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 - a different picture. The company is trying to save money by making the project a purely domestic Russian one. And at the same time create an LNG Technology Center. 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, as it were, will be spent on 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 completely sold on imported equipment and with the participation of foreign companies - German, American, Chinese - there was not much Russian ... Despite the fact that the construction of the port of Sabetta and dredging works were carried out at the state expense. That is, there was a "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 what the bulk islands are for. That is, an "economical" project starts with dubious spending.

SP: - How can sanctions affect the LNG-Arctic project? Is it known that the United States imposed a ban on the supply of equipment for the production of hydrocarbons on the shelf?

The sanctions so far only concern oil production, although it is often difficult to separate it from gas production. Usually these types of hydrocarbons coexist. 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 offshore, but simply offshore. Nevertheless, as far as I have information, all deliveries for this project have already been completed. The company was in a hurry to buy equipment in advance in case the Americans still impose sanctions on the gas industry in Russia.

JV: Does the state bear 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 allocated about 300 billion rubles for its implementation. If we assume that due to a sharp drop in hydrocarbon prices, the production of Arctic gas will be unprofitable for a long time and the company will go bankrupt, then returning this amount to the state is rather problematic. In addition, for quite a long time, Novatek has been exempted from paying export duties and from MET (mineral extraction tax). So far, the state gets very little from Novatek's Arctic projects.

So far, very little information about the project has been brought to us, - says the director of the Institute of National Energy Sergey Pravosudov. - I think that literally a few specialists close to the management of Novatek are devoted to the details. It is known that the stake will be placed not on stationary LNG onshore, but on a floating platform. But why do we need bulk islands in this case, and even so far from the gas production site, is completely incomprehensible. For example, Royal Dutch Shell is implementing a similar project with a floating LNG plant in Australia, but does not plan to fill any islands for this.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev approved a plan of top-priority measures for the creation in the Barents Sea of \u200b\u200bthe Center for the construction of large-capacity offshore structures - artificial islands on which work will be carried out for gas production, as well as the operation and repair of marine equipment.

"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-based bases, offshore production complexes, as well as the 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.

The document also explains that the construction of artificial land plots in the water area of \u200b\u200bthe Kola Bay is necessary to locate the center's facilities. Artificial land plots will be created at the expense of Kola Verf LLC's own funds. The volume of capital investments under the project will amount to over 25 billion rubles.

Kolskaya Verf LLC received permission from Rosmorrechflot to create artificial land plots on a water body. The signed order of Kola Verf LLC has been determined by the person with whom Rosmorrechflot will conclude 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 says that the construction of the center will create about 10 thousand jobs at the shipyard itself, increase tax revenues to the budgets of all levels, attract additional investment to the region, and develop new high-tech industries.

The administrative address of the object will be the village of Belokamenka of the closed administrative-territorial entity Aleksandrovsk, Murmansk region. In addition, it recommended the federal executive authorities, the authorities of the Murmansk region and local self-government to help in reducing the time required for registration of land plots for the construction of the center, as well as the timing of examinations and issuing permits. Local authorities were also asked to consider the issue of providing tax incentives for taxes.

Construction in Belokamenka will be carried out within the framework of the Arctic LNG project, which envisages the production of 16.5 million tons of liquefied natural gas per year. The Gydan deposits will serve as a resource base for it. Denis Khramov, deputy chairman of the board of NOVATEK, said earlier that together with Yamal LNG (the company's second project for liquefying natural gas of similar capacity), Arctic LNG will be able to occupy about 7% of the world liquefied gas market.

In July 2015, the Minister of Natural Resources of Russia addressed the Prime Minister with a letter in which he proposed revising the 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 President of Russia on the liberalization of 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 exploration and development of fields, earlier protested against the appearance of other companies on the shelf.

According to the director of Small Letters, the offshore field in Murmansk will be effective only 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 the rights to two sections of the shelf.

In August 2014, Gazprom obtained the right to use the Kheisovsky subsoil block with an area of \u200b\u200b83,590 sq. km, located in the Barents Sea. Inferred resources for oil - 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 Pritaimyr subsoil block with an area of \u200b\u200b20,619 sq. M. km in the Laptev Sea. The Pritaimyr block has projected geological resources of 348.6 million tons of oil, recoverable resources of 104.6 million tons, of gas - 362.8 billion cubic meters. m.

Four artificial islands will be created in the Kola Bay of the Barents Sea. The corresponding order was signed on June 15 by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. The Kola Verf Company was commissioned to build new islands.

On the islands themselves, the Center for the construction of large-capacity offshore structures will function, 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 the repair and maintenance of marine equipment and equipment used for the development of offshore oil and gas condensate fields," - specified at website of the Cabinet.

Kola Verf is a subsidiary of Novatek, which has 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 for expanding its territory and for military purposes. At the beginning of the 18th century, Turtle Island, where the citadel was located, was poured in the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov. Later, the island lost its strategic importance, but you can still see parts of it at low tide.

And today in Russia, the creation of artificial land plots is actively underway. Roman Pukalov, director of environmental programs at the Green Patrol, noted that Russia already has such successful projects. For example, in the Kerch Strait, fill dams were created during the construction of the Crimean bridge.

“There were similar projects, the same Tuzla Spit, which runs from Taman to Kerch, is in many ways an artificial structure. When the Kerch bridge was being built, the spit expanded, filled up and changed, ”the expert explains.

  • globallookpress.com
  • Serguei Fomine

The bridge across the Kerch Strait will connect Crimea and Krasnodar Territory. It is planned that it will become the longest in Russia. Its length will be 19 km. Motorists will be able to test the new bridge in December 2018.

The builders have already completed the assembly of the railway arch.

Projects for a Better Life

In 2006, the expansion of the western part of Vasilievsky Island began in St. Petersburg. The area of \u200b\u200bthe new territories of the island will be about 476 hectares. The Marine Facade project is one of the world's largest coastal development projects.

  • www.mfspb.ru

The expansion of the island is not over yet, but there is already a specialized seaport, which is popular with 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

According to Sergei Pikin, Director of the Energy Development Fund, this is an important step for Russia, since currently there are not many similar projects operating in our country. 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 building artificial islands is the most advantageous because it will help solve many problems related to infrastructure,” the expert believes.

Ecologist Roman Pukalov notes that such a construction requires not only a well-thought-out project, but also an independent environmental expertise.

“The Kola Bay is a natural environment, you need to look very closely at how the current goes through the bay itself, whether it will hinder the movement of aquatic organisms, how long the work will be carried out in order to avoid the disturbance factor during the spawning period. This needs to be carefully considered, ”says the ecologist.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed an order to create four artificial islands in the Kola Bay of the Barents Sea. According to experts, this will greatly 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 on June 15 by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. The Kola Verf Company was entrusted with the construction of new islands

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 the repair and maintenance of marine equipment and equipment used for the development of offshore oil and gas condensate fields," - specified at website of the Cabinet.

Kola Verf is a subsidiary of Novatek, which has 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 for expansion of territories and for military purposes. At the beginning of the 18th century, Turtle Island was poured in the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov, where the citadel was located. Later, the island lost its strategic importance, but today at low tide you can still see parts of it.

And today in Russia, the creation of artificial land plots is actively underway. Roman Pukalov, director of environmental programs at the Green Patrol, noted that Russia already has such successful projects. For example, in the Kerch Strait, fill dams were created during the construction of the Crimean bridge.

“There were similar projects, the same Tuzla Spit, which runs from Taman towards Kerch, is in many ways an artificial structure. While building the Kerch Bridge, the spit expanded, filled up and changed, ”the expert explains.

  • globallookpress.com
  • © Serguei Fomine

The bridge across the Kerch Strait will connect Crimea and Krasnodar Territory. It is planned that it will become the longest in Russia. Its length will be 19 km. Motorists will be able to test the new bridge in December 2018.

As RT reported, the builders have already completed the assembly of the railway arch.

Projects for a Better Life

In 2006, the expansion of the western part of Vasilievsky Island began in St. Petersburg. The area of \u200b\u200bthe new territories of the island will be about 476 hectares. The Marine Facade project is one of the largest coastal development projects in the world.

  • © www.mfspb.ru

The expansion of the island is not over yet, but a specialized seaport is already functioning there, which is popular with 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

According to Sergei Pikin, Director of the Energy Development Fund, this is an important step for Russia, since at the moment there are not many similar projects in our country. 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 building artificial islands is the most advantageous because it will help solve many problems related to infrastructure," the expert believes.

Ecologist Roman Pukalov notes that such a construction requires not only a well-thought-out project, but also an independent environmental expertise.

“The Kola Bay is a natural environment, you need to look very closely at how the current goes along the bay itself, whether it will hinder the movement of aquatic organisms, how long the work will be carried out in order to avoid the disturbance factor during the spawning period. All this needs to be carefully thought out, ”says the ecologist.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev ordered build four new islands in the Barents Sea... They will produce equipment for the extraction and storage of natural gas.

The government decree 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 of the Russian Federation" to determine what Rosmorrechflot concludes with a limited liability company Kola Verf agreements on the creation of 4 artificial land plots in the Kola Bay (middle knee) of the Barents Sea for the construction and operation of facilities "Center for the construction of large-scale offshore structures (CSKMS). Complex for the manufacture of gravity-type foundations and the integration of topside modules" without an open auction for the right to conclude such contracts.

An ambitious project: Yamal LNG \u003e\u003e

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 kopeck from the budget will leak into the Barents Sea - the Kola Verf LLC, a subsidiary of NOVATEK, will invest in the project. The company did not go through any tender procedures - at the disposal of the prime minister, it is listed as the only contractor.

The artificial islands in the Kola Bay will host the Center for the Construction of Large-Capacity Offshore Facilities, which will manufacture offshore complexes for the production, storage and shipment of liquefied natural gas offshore in the Murmansk Region, as well as the repair and maintenance of marine equipment. The prime minister's order says that the new facilities will create about 10,000 jobs in the Arctic, as well as "increase tax revenues to the budgets of all levels", attract investment to the region and develop new technologies in production. It is known that the construction will be carried out within the framework of the project for the development of Arctic gas shelves "Arctic-LNG", 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.

Gazprom started offshore laying of the TurkStream gas pipeline \u003e\u003e

NOVATEK informs that the subsidiary of the Company LLC "Arctic LNG-1" won the auction for the right to use the subsoil of the Gydan block for the purpose of geological study, exploration and production of hydrocarbons. The license is issued for a period of 27 years. As a result of the auction, a one-time payment for the use of subsurface resources was set at the level of RUB 2,262 million.

The company already possesses a significant raw material base on the Gydan Peninsula, including the Utrennee, Geofizicheskoye and Ladertoyskoye fields, as well as Trekhbugorny, Nyavuyakhsky, Zapadno-Solpatinsky, Tanamsky and North Tanamsky areas. The Gydan block is located in close proximity to the Utrennoye field, which will serve as a resource base for the Arctic LNG-2 project. Obtaining a license for the Gydan block will significantly increase the resource base of NOVATEK 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.

The largest gas processing plant in Russia \u003e\u003e

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Licenses for the development of the Geofizicheskoye and Salmanovskoye (Utrennoye) fields on the Gydan Peninsula were acquired in September 2011 and are valid until 2031.

The Salmanovskoye (Utrennee) field, located in the northern part of the Gydan Peninsula and partly in the water area of \u200b\u200bthe Gulf of Ob in close proximity to the South Tambeyskoye field, was discovered in 1980. In terms of recoverable reserves, it is the largest of the fields discovered so far 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.

Seven reasons for the high efficiency of Nord Stream 2 development \u003e\u003e

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 the auction for the right to use the subsoil of the Trekhbugorny block located on the Gydan Peninsula and bordering the Company's Geophysical license block. The reserves of the Trekhbugorny area in the C1 + C2 categories of the Russian classification are 5.9 billion cubic meters. m of natural gas, recoverable resources exceed 1 trillion cubic meters. m of gas and 90 million tons of liquid hydrocarbons.

In 2016, NOVATEK continued full-scale geological exploration at sites on the Gydan Peninsula in order to clarify the resource potential of this strategically important region for the Company. In the period 2014-2016. a total of 5 wells were drilled at the Utrennoye field, the results of their tests allowed to increase the reserves of the field and confirm higher productivity of the wells.