Arctic Regions to Be Discussed at International Arctic Forum 2019

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Specific aspects of building in permafrost conditions will be discussed at the ‘Arctic: Territory of Dialogue’ 5th International Arctic Forum. The discussion will be attended by Russian Minister of Construction, Housing, and Utilities Vladimir Yakushev, Director of the Federal Agency on Technical Regulation and Metrology (Rosstandart) Alexey Abramov, and Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Regional Policy and Problems of the North and the Russian Far East Vladimir Pushkarev.

The Arctic regions are strategically important territories for Russia. At present, major projects for the modernization and reconstruction of the social, industrial, housing, transport, and other infrastructure of the Arctic require new construction regulations that take into account the extreme permafrost conditions.

«In 2019, Russia will continue to update its regulatory framework in construction, primarily as regards the introduction of new materials and technologies. Our job is to develop a regulatory framework for design and construction in the Arctic zone. Considering that our country’s promising oil and gas producing areas are shifting more and more to the Arctic regions, it is strategically important to develop new construction technologies that can be used in the conditions of the Far North», Adviser to the Russian President Anton Kobyakov said.

The Arctic regions have a number of specific features that make it difficult or impossible to develop and build infrastructure for oil and gas companies solely using technologies that have previously been tested at existing fields. Manmade impacts are radically changing the thermal state of rocks in the Arctic zone, which contributes to processes that increase the risk of the deformation or destruction of buildings.

«The remoteness from industrialized regions, the lack of developed infrastructure and the inability to build it quickly as well as unfavourable geo-climatic and challenging engineering and geological conditions all create significant difficulties for the development of Arctic regions. Our job is to find ways to minimize all kinds of burdens on the environment, both during the construction and operation of facilities. To achieve this goal, modern technical solutions that optimize all aspects of interaction with the environment need to be developed and applied, including the use of minimally manned, energy-saving, and eco-friendly technologies», Yakushev said

The development of Russia’s Arctic shelf is one of the state’s long-term strategic goals for the coming decades. The government is conducting expert evaluations of projects for the construction of offshore ice-resistant platforms, the reconstruction of individual platforms, construction of wells from oil and gas production platforms, underwater mining facilities, offshore infield and onshore pipelines, and offshore fixed and floating shipping terminals. Such projects include the Prirazlomnaya offshore ice-resistant platform in the Pechora Sea, the Northern Lights and Polar Star floating drilling rigs, and Lukoil’s stationary offshore ice-resistant shipping dock in the Pechora Sea that can handle the transhipment of up to 12 million tonnes of oil per year.

(forumarctica)

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