A press breakfast dedicated to the 10th anniversary of Rosneft’s research work in high latitudes was held in Moscow. The Arctic Research Center of the Company was established in 2011 to carry out comprehensive research in the following areas: geology of marine and coastal zones, oceanology, hydrometeorology, study of glaciers and icebergs, monitoring of populations of rare species of animals and birds. During this time, over thirty expeditions have been organised in the waters of all seas of the Russian sector of the Arctic Ocean.

The Company’s specialists recalled that initially there was practically no data on the characteristics of ice formations in the Laptev, Kara, East Siberian and Chukchi Seas. To collect information, the most ambitious expeditions in the modern history of Russia were organised, the work of scientific field bases, automatic weather stations, semi-submersible buoy stations was established.

As a result, one of the world’s largest databases on the natural and climatic conditions of the Arctic shelf was formed, the main zones of formation of icebergs were studied and methods for changing the trajectory of their drift were worked out. With the help of satellite technologies and mathematical analysis, the ice conditions are constantly monitored, which will accelerate the implementation of the task of year-round navigation along the Northern Sea Route. The first Russian ships for this transport artery are being built today at the ultra-modern Zvezda shipyard in the Primorsky Territory. The project is being implemented by a consortium led by Rosneft.

The Rosneft Arctic Research Center conducts an extensive research program in the field of geology. In 2020, a unique project was launched to study the hard-to-reach and little-studied regions of the Arctic. In partnership with the nongovernmental development institute Innopraktika, Rosneft, for the first time in the history of scientific research, has drilled shallow wells in the north of the Kara Sea and in the Laptev Sea. In the course of the work, a core sample was taken – a valuable rock material, a direct source of geological data required to determine the age (stratification), composition and conditions of formation for continental shelf rocks under research.

Together with Innopraktika, a microbial preparation is also being developed to cleanse the waters of the northern seas from chronic hydrocarbon pollution associated primarily with the transport infrastructure. The drug has successfully passed laboratory tests, and now work is underway to scale up industrial technology.

In 2019, within the framework of the Ecology national project, Rosneft committed itself to implementing a corporate program for the study, conservation and monitoring of key species – bioindicators of the sustainability of Arctic ecosystems: polar bears, Atlantic walrus, wild reindeer and ivory gulls. The data collected in the course of research is used in making design decisions and for developing environmental protection measures. The second field season of the program has been completed this year.

Rosneft
Information Division
December 6, 2021

Keywords: Environmental News 2021