The Future of Russian Arctic Oil and Gas Projects: Problems of Assessing the Prospects

Limited increases in Arctic offshore oil and gas production with climate change and the implications for energy markets

Climate change impacts on sea ice thickness is opening access to offshore Arctic resources. The degree to which these resources are exploited will depend on sea-ice conditions, technology costs, international energy markets, and the regulatory environment. We use an integrated human-Earth system model, GCAM, to explore the effects of spatial-temporal patterns of sea-ice loss under climate change on future Arctic offshore oil and gas extraction, considering interactions with global energy markets and emission reduction scenarios. We find that under SSP5, a "fossil-fueled development" scenario, the effects of sea-ice loss are larger for Arctic offshore oil production than gas. Under SSP5, future extraction of Arctic offshore oil and gas through 2100 adds roughly 0.8-2.6 EJ/year to oil and gas markets but does not have large impacts on global oil and gas markets. Surprisingly, a low-carbon scenario results in greater Arctic offshore oil production to offset the more emissions-intensive unconventional oil production.

Value Improving Practices in Production of Hydrocarbon Resources in the Arctic Regions

The relevance of the article is due to the fact that as the ice melts, the Arctic Ocean is becoming increasingly available. This fact has renewed the interest in Arctic mineral resources. The purpose of this article is to study special aspects of the development of Arctic hydrocarbon resources, which can boost the economic growth of the Russian economy in the medium term, and to identify approaches to enhance the economic value of these processes. The purpose was achieved by the solution of the following objectives: analysis of the current state of the Arctic resources, as well as the situation on both the global and Russian markets for hydrocarbon resources; study of the special part played by Arctic marine hydrocarbons; and substantiation of the development of transport infrastructure as an important factor in enhancing the economic efficiency of the production of offshore hydrocarbon resources in the Arctic Regions. The methodological framework of the article is formed by the fundamental provisions of economic theory, national economy, economic, environmental and energy security, as well as discoveries and developments by foreign and domestic scientists to ensure the economic efficiency of offshore hydrocarbon production in the Arctic Regions. The author’s sequence of stages for calculating the technical and economic potential of offshore oil and gas fields in the Arctic is proposed, which, unlike the existing ones, is based on an integral indicator combining financial, technical, climatic and service-infrastructure characteristics of fields, which makes it possible to make a rating of fields to determine the order and priority of the beginning of their development. The necessity of taking into account a wide list of factors in the comparative analysis of oil and gas fields in the Arctic in order to make strategic management decisions on the priority of field development is proved. The article suggests that the organizational structure and legal support be differentiated by management levels (mega-level, macro-level, meso-level, and micro-level), as it pertains to the extraction of marine hydrocarbon resources in the Arctic Regions and the development of the transport infrastructure of the Northern Sea Route.

Development of a Weighted Barite-Free Formate Drilling Mud for Well Construction under Complicated Conditions

Construction of oil and gas wells at offshore fields often involves high formation pressure and the presence of swellable clay rocks in the section. In addition, productivity preservation is also an important aspect. For this purpose, it is necessary to reduce the solids content of the drilling mud. The purpose of this work is to develop, improve, and study compositions of weighted drilling muds with low content of solids, on the basis of organic salts of alkali metals and polymers for the construction of wells prone to rock swelling and/or cavings, as well as drilling fluids for drilling-in the formation. In order to achieve the set goal the following is required: Analysis of existing drilling muds of higher density for drilling wells in unstable rock intervals and for drilling in the productive formation; analysis of experience in using drilling systems on the formic acid salts base and substantiation of requirements for flushing fluids during well construction; development and investigation of drilling mud compositions on the formate base; and the evaluation of inhibiting effect of systems containing organic salts, polymer reagents, and calcium carbonate on clay samples. The developed drilling mud is characterized by a high inhibiting ability that allows minimized mud-weighting by the natural solid phase. This reduces the volume of prepared mud and facilitates the regulation of its properties by reducing the dispersion of drilled cuttings; it eliminates problems related to hydration and the swelling of active clay rocks; and stabilizes unstable argillites prone to caving. The low solids content, low filtration rates, and inhibitory nature of the mud allows high stability of the rheological properties of the mud, and preserves oil and gas reservoir productivity under conditions of elevated formation pressure.

Sustainable Development of Oil and Gas Resources: A System of Environmental, Socio-Economic, and Innovation Indicators

Following the principles of sustainable development in the development of oil and gas fields in the Arctic will ensure that hydrocarbon production and transportation operations comply with stringent environmental regulations, the economies of the northern regions become integrated into the national economy of Russia, production systems in the oil and gas sector are upgraded in an innovative manner, and further development of this region is balanced from the environmental perspective. The purpose of the study is to develop and provide a rationale for a balanced system of environmental, socio-economic, and innovative indicators for assessing whether the development of the Arctic’s unique hydrocarbon reserves is sustainable. The theoretical framework of the study draws upon the foundations and key principles of the sustainable development concept and upon modern approaches and methods for assessing the sustainability of production systems. The study presents an analysis of conceptual approaches to defining sustainable development in reference to oil and gas resources, including those found in the Arctic, defines target priorities for the sustainable development of the Arctic’s resource potential, and identifies the relationship between the environmental, socio-economic, and innovative domains of sustainability in the context of Arctic resource development. The results of the study demonstrate how large-scale gas projects can influence regional development and provide for making informed conclusions about whether the development of the Arctic’s oil and gas reserves can be considered sustainable (in accordance with the basic principles of the sustainable development concept).

Dependence of the Equivalent Circulation Density of Formate Drilling Fluids on the Molecular Mass of the Polymer Reagent

Construction of offshore gas wells is characterized by increased requirements for both the technological process in general and the technological parameters of drilling fluids in particular. Parameters and properties of the used drilling muds must meet a large number of requirements. The main one is the preservation of the permeability of the reservoirs, in addition to the environmental and technological concerns. At the same time, pressures in the productive formation at offshore fields are often high; the anomaly coefficient is 1.2 and higher. The use of barite in such conditions can lead to contamination of the formation and a decrease in future well flow rates. In this regard, the development and study of the compositions for weighted drilling muds is necessary and relevant. The paper presents investigations on the development of such a composition based on salts of formic acid (formates) and evaluates the effect of the molecular weight of the polymer reagent (partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide) on the equivalent circulation density of the drilling fluid. The result of the work is a formate-based high-density drilling mud with no barite added. Application of such a mud will preserve the permeability of the productive formation.