Top Arctic stories of the week, 14 -- 18 February 2022

Below is a recap of this week’s posts by Alexander Stotskiy (CEO, Project Office for Arctic Development) analyzing major international, national and regional events and trends in the Arctic.

A module for Arctic LNG 2 delivered via NSR despite challenging ice condition

An ice-class module carrier completed its voyage through the Northern Sea Route long after the navigation season closure, to deliver from China to Murmansk a process module weighing some 12,000 tons for Arctic LNG 2. This voyage is unique in terms of a vessel of this size passing the entire Northern Sea Route in February, as the current NSR navigation season saw severer ice conditions compared to previous years. Read more…

The Emergency Ministry intends to build 20 rescue centers in the Russian Arctic

The Emergency Ministry has announced its plans to build twenty new polar search and rescue facilities in the vicinity of major oil and gas projects in the Russian Arctic. Ten first-response facilities are at the construction stage, while plans to build ten more are discussed. These facilities will be located in areas adjacent to the sites of two Novatek’s top gas projects, Yamal LNG and Arctic LNG, as well as near the village of Dikson where the Vostok Oil project will be implemented by Rosneft. Read more…

Murmansk will accommodate an LNG transshipment facility

Capital of Arctic, a special economic area established in Murmansk, will be made larger to accommodate an LNG transshipment facility for Yamal LNG, a major gas development project in the Russian Arctic. The facility will be used to reload the liquid natural gas shipped from the Sabetta Port by ice-class LNG carriers to conventional tankers, which, in turn, will deliver it to buyers throughout Europe. This solution is intended to improve the cost-effectiveness of the project’s delivery operations. Read more…

A new fiber cable connected Yamal and Komi

Russian telecom provider MTS announced the completion of its project to build a 100-Gigabit fiber-optic cable connecting Salekhard and Labytnangi, two cities in the Yamal Nenets Autonomous District. A part of this 25-kilometer-long cable passes under the River Ob. The new cable has enabled the company to link its digital infrastructure in Yamal to its telecommunication nodes located in the neighboring Arctic region of Komi. Putting the cable into operation marks an important milestone in terms of development of the Russian Arctic, as it brings more connectivity to remote off-grid areas. Read more…

About USD 19 billion will be invested into NSR-related initiatives

According to Rosatom, about USD 19 billion will be allocated to fund projects implemented at the Northern Sea Route, with more than USD 13 billion to be provided by private investors. The funds will be used to attain a range of important goals. Among these are financing the launch of the NSR Integrated Digital Service Platform, construction of new telecom satellites, building the infrastructure for major development projects in the Russian Arctic, establishing a commercially viable shipping line on the NSR, and construction of nuclear and LNG-powered icebreakers together with a fleet of rescue, cargo and survey vessels. Read more…