The Arctic - a territory of advanced development

From September 21­-24, St. Petersburg successfully hosted the 15th International Forum for oil & gas resources development of the Russian Arctic and CIS continental shelf RAO/CIS Offshore 2021.
The Forum was traditionally devoted to the key issues of the development of the offshore oil and gas production: the study and formation of the resource base, priority projects of development of deposits on the shelves of the Russian seas, the introduction of modern marine equipment, integrated safety and efficiency of the Arctic exploration.
The main event of the Forum was the Plenary Session of the Arctic Offshore Development Conference in the framework of Russia’s chairmanship in the Arctic Council. It was attended by Vladimir KONYAGININ, Vice-Governor of St. Petersburg; Alexey KONTOROVICH, a Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Chairman of the Scientific Council of the RAS on Geology and Development of Oil, Gas and Coal Fields, Global Energy Prize Laureate, Chairman of RAO/CIS Offshore Program Committee; Nikolay KORCHUNOV, Ambassador at Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Chair of the Senior Arctic Officials in the Arctic Council; Vladimir LITVINENKO, Head of Scientific Activity — Deputy Head of Interdepartmental Working Group on Hydrogen Energy Development in the Russian Federation, Rector of St. Petersburg Mining University; Marat NURIYEV, Deputy Head of Offshore Field Engineering and Technology of Gas, Gas Condensate and Oil Production Department at Gazprom; Maxim KULINKO, Deputy Director of Northern Sea Route Directorate, State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom; Herman SHIROKOV, Chairman of St. Petersburg Committee of the Arctic Affairs.
An important element of the Forum is to draw attention to new developments and their testing in the Arctic. Traditionally, RAO/CIS Offshore includes summing up the results and awarding the winners of the International Contest of R&D and Innovative Works for the Development and Exploitation of the Arctic and the Continental Shelf, organized by the Russian Ministry of Energy.
The visitors showed great interest in the exhibition, which presented projects of oil and gas fields development in the Russian Arctic, equipment and technologies for drilling and development of offshore hydrocarbon fields and safety when working on the shelf. The new developments were presented by the leading industrial companies, including PO Sevmash, Afrikantov OKBM, Central Scientific Research Institute of Aviation, Institute of Engineering Physics, VSEGEI, St. Petersburg Mining University, ROSGEOLFOND, Kurchatov Institute National Research Center, Uralmash Holding and many more. The center of the exposition was a united stand of St. Petersburg enterprises, organized by the Committee on Arctic Affairs.
RAO/CIS Offshore 2021 Forum has once again confirmed its status as a leading industry platform for the search, preparation and implementation of important technological, economic and political solutions for the sustainable development of the Russian Arctic. The conference included 12 conference sessions, 2 of which were presented in new areas: "Arctic Materials Science" and "Arctic and Marine Medicine". The Conference Program traditionally included the Young Session organized by Gazprom VNIIGAZ and RESTEC Exhibition Company. Participants of the Young Session competed in solving a case study on the Concept of Arctic offshore gas field development.
During the sessions and lengthy discussions, the experts discussed a number of important issues in terms of expanding the capabilities of Russian enterprises in the Arctic: technologies for manufacturing cold-resistant materials for their subsequent use in building icebreaking vessels, the use of drones to search for people drowning in water, systems enabling vessels to quickly navigate the sea and provide mobile rescue, and oil spill emergency response methods. They also shared their experience in designing marine equipment for work on the Arctic shelf and the results of companies' work on the shelf and in the Arctic Ocean.
Despite the difficult epidemiological situation in Russia and the world, 640 representatives of more than 260 Russian and foreign companies became delegates of RAO/CIS Offshore 2021, including Gazprom, NOVATEK, Rosneft Oil Company, EMERCOM of Russia, Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation, Atomflot, United Shipbuilding Corporation, Transneft, Chernomorneftegaz, NRC "Kurchatov Institute" - CRISM "Prometey", Baltic Shipyard, Gazprom Flot, Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, MAGE, PO "Sevmash", Gazprom VNIIGAZ, TMK, Severstal, Lazurit Central Design Bureau, Corall Central Design Bureau and many more. The business program included 210 presentations.
The Organizing Committee of the 15th International exhibition and conference for oil & gas resources development of the Russian Arctic and CIS continental shelf RAO/CIS Offshore2021would like to thank all partners for support and assistance in organizing the project, as well as all participants for joint work and trust.
See you in St. Petersburg at OMR 2022 International Offshore and Maritime Exhibition and Conference!