Russia Goes All In On Arctic Oil Development

Authored by Tsvetana Paraskova via OilPrice.com,

Neither sanctions nor persistently low oil prices are hindering Russia’s ambitions or plans to develop oil resources in its sections of the Arctic.

In April, state-controlled oil giant Rosneft started drilling the northernmost well on the Russian Arctic shelf in the Khatangsky license area in the Laptev Sea. In June, Rosneft struck first oil in the Eastern Arctic in this license.

Earlier this month, the oil firm said that recoverable reserves at the field exceed 80 million tons of oil, which is equal to around 586.4 million barrels. Geological data point to reserves at the field at 298 million tons of oil, or some 2.184 billion barrels, and the oil is high quality - light and low-sulfur, according to Rosneft.  

The Russian oil giant - whose CEO Igor Sechin is a close ally of Vladimir Putin - continues to drill at the field to study its geology, search for more oil, and define future drilling strategies at the license, Rosneft says.

Rosneft and Gazprom’s oil unit Gazprom Neft are the only two companies allowed to drill in the Arctic offshore under Russia’s legislation.

Gazprom Neft operates the only oil-producing platform in Russia’s Arctic currently. The Prirazlomnoye oil field in the Pechora Sea started pumping oil back in late 2013. The field is estimated to hold 70 million tons of oil, or 513 million barrels, with annual production averaging 5.5 million tons (40.3 million barrels) at full capacity. Related: Is The Aramco IPO On The Brink Of Collapse?

Rosneft also plans to resume drilling in the Barents Sea next year and in the Kara Sea within two years, thus committing itself to conduct drilling works across the entire Russian section of the Arctic.

Rosneft holds 28 licenses in the Russian Arctic shelf that are estimated to have combined reserves of 34 billion tons of oil equivalent, or 249.22 billion barrels. Since 2012, Rosneft has invested $1.74 billion (100 billion rubles) in Arctic exploration, and will invest in 2017-2021 another $4.354 billion (250 billion rubles).

Russia, for its part, has stated that Arctic oil and Arctic development are priorities in its policies, and is supporting development with financing in a kind of political message that sanctions won’t deter its Arctic oil ambitions.

The U.S. Treasury sanctions list from 2014 prohibits the exports of goods, services (not including financial services), or technology in support of exploration or production for Russian deepwater, Arctic offshore, or shale projects that have the potential to produce oil. 

While Western banks are still evaluating the potential impact of the latest round of U.S. sanctions on Russia from this summer, Moscow is committing funds to Artic development. At the end of August, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said that Russia will finance the development of the Artic continental shelf and the economy of the local areas with more than $2.787 billion (160 billion rubles) by 2025. He said Russia’s program for Arctic development rests on three pillars: boosting economic growth, developing sea infrastructure, and developing the continental shelf with modern technology and equipment. Related: Oil Markets Fear Iraqi Escalation

As part of that program, in 2021-2025, the government will fund $414.5 million (23.8 billion rubles) for a program to build oil and gas equipment and technology and industrial machinery for exploration and development in the Arctic.

According to experts cited by Rosneft, the Arctic shelf is expected to account for 20-30 percent of Russia’s total oil production by 2050.

It’s not clear who will need Russian Arctic oil in 2050, but in the shorter term, Russia is betting on the Arctic, and Rosneft’s exploration success this year could really pay off. 

Inconvenient? Record Arctic Sea Ice Growth In September

According to data from The Danish Meteorological Institute, since hitting its earliest minimum extent since 1997, Arctic sea ice has been expanding at a phenomenal rate.

http://ocean.dmi.dk/arctic/icecover.uk.php

As notalotofpeopleknowthat blog details, it is already greater than at the same date in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2015.

Put another way, it is the fourth highest extent in the last ten years.

ftp://sidads.colorado.edu/DATASETS/NOAA/G02135/north/daily/data/

Even more remarkably, ice growth since the start of the month is actually the greatest on record, since daily figures started to be kept in 1987.

ftp://sidads.colorado.edu/DATASETS/NOAA/G02135/north/daily/data/

Experts call this phenomenon the final collapse of sea ice!

*  *  *

While we are sure this is just "transitory", it appears the "science" is not as "settled" as we thought...

Source: Branco

Norway Removes Greenpeace Ship From Statoil Arctic Drill Site

Authored by Zainab Calcuttawala via OilPrice.com,

Norway’s coast guard has removed Greenpeace protestors from a safety zone near Statoil drilling operations in the Korpfjell field of the Barents Sea, according to a new report in the Maritime Executive.

The protestors used kayaks to infiltrate a 500-meter exclusion zone around the Songa Enabler on Thursday in order to attach a large globe to the rig. On it was a statement from environmentalists calling on Norway to end its drilling in the Arctic.

Statoil called the stunt “illegal and irresponsible” before summoning the authorities to remove the protestors’ vessel, Arctic Sunrise.

On the other hand, Greenpeace Norway argues the coast guard’s actions were unlawful.

“The Norwegian coast guard doesn’t have the right to board or remove our ship,” said Truls Gulowsen, head of the local branch of the environmental group.

“Protest at sea is an internationally recognized lawful use of the sea, related to the freedom of navigation. We are taking action against Arctic drilling in an area where our rights to protest are protected under international law. The Norwegian government cannot unjustifiably interfere with that right.”

So far, the government maintains that it acted within its rights when it removed the ship due to the clear establishment of the exclusion zone.

To this claim, the group retorts:

“While Greenpeace recognizes that Norway has the right to establish a safety zone around a fixed offshore installation, there should also be room to exercise the right to protest in a safe and peaceful manner.”

Environmentalists continue to protest drilling in the Arctic and the potential opening of the Lofoten islands to exploration.

Greenpeace is suing Norway in a trial set to begin in November, arguing that “granting licenses to open a new oil frontier breaches the Norwegian Constitutional right to a healthy and safe environment for current and future generations and contravenes the Paris Agreement.”

U.S. Army-built nuclear powered underground city completed, fully staffed by 1960: Project Iceworm

"Camp Century" was used as a cover story for a secret underground Arctic city built by the U.S. Army

N.W. GREENLAND (INTELLIHUB) — Project Iceworm was the U.S. Army’s code name for the top-secret installation of mobile nuclear-capable missile launching pads beneath a well surveyed and completely flat ice sheet in Greenland.

Using a cover story, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers kept Iceworm secret from the Danish government by publicizing the construction of a planned “research” facility named Camp Century.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) initiated the construction of Camp Century in 1959 after over a year of methodical planning and preparation.

During the camp’s construction, a bogus propaganda video was filmed to appease certain government figureheads and members of the general public. Although the video itself was real, it existed as a cover story to what was really being constructed — a large-scale underground city.

The city’s location was carefully chosen to be in a spot where the ice sheet deviated less than one degree in slope. The foundation for which the city would be built upon was perfectly flat which would minimize mistakes and speed up the construction process.

Workers would work around the clock and rotate in 10-hour shifts.

Supplies were transported 150-miles from Thule Air Force Base to a team of skilled Officers and a good size group of engineers and construction workers via aircraft and on 50 and 100-ton sleds that were pulled across the ice sheet by convoys of large Caterpillar tractors. The treks across the winter wonderland were known to Army personnel as “heavy swings.”

Working a heavy swing was brutal for most due to the freezing temperatures, wind shear, and the potential for sunburn, but men were fed well as rations were plentiful.

A three-mile-long road was constructed close to the camp in order to speed up the delivery of incoming supplies.

In one trip alone, before the nuclear reactor “went critical,” twenty-five thousand gallons of diesel fuel was brought in which would power all of the local equipment for months to come.

All-in-all over 6000 tons of supplies were used during the construction process of Camp Century before it’s completion in 1959.

One of the most impressive features of the camp at the time was its nuclear reactor that would supply infinite power to the city’s future residents.

95 percent of the city was constructed underground. Using a tunneling process and then overlaying 40-foot arched steel sections of roofing which rested on a steel beam frame, the reactor building and other areas of the city were completed in record time.

Bricks were made out of the ice in some cases which would form non-structural walls in parts of the camp.

Camp Century layout (U.S. Army)

In total 16 fire escapes were installed in the city’s tunnel systems allowing residents to flee to the surface through hatches in case of an emergency.

The city’s nuclear reactor was prefabricated and transported to the vicinity in pieces via ship than on a “heavy swing” until it arrived at the camp where it would be carefully assembled by engineers with poorly outfitted radiation gear.

The reactor was built by Alco Products Inc. out of New York and was the key to the “completely modern city under the deep ice.”

By the time the city was complete around 1960, it housed a religious chapel, a hospital, mess hall, private rooms and more. The city had the world’s largest deep freezer which held a fat 3-month supply of food for residents.

Living quarters were “modern, spacious, and comfortable — not lacking in any way.”

Once the cover “Camp Century” was complete it was turned over to “researchers” who were allegedly part of the “Polar Research and Development Program.”

However, that may not have been the case because under Project Iceworm missile silos were to be constructed.

Wikipedia reports:

According to the documents published by Denmark in 1997, the U.S. Army’s “Iceworm” missile network was outlined in a 1960 Army report titled “Strategic Value of the Greenland Icecap”. If fully implemented, the project would cover an area of 52,000 square miles (130,000 km²), roughly three times the size of Denmark. The launch complex floors would be 28 feet (8.5 m) below the surface, with the missile launchers even deeper, and clusters of missile launch centers would be spaced 4 miles (6.4 km) apart. New tunnels were to be dug every year, so that after five years there would be thousands of firing positions, among which the several hundred missiles could be rotated. The Army intended to deploy a shortened, two-stage version of the U.S. Air Force’s Minuteman missile, a variant the Army proposed calling the Iceman.

Was the funding for Project Iceworm used on nuclear capable underground missile launchpads or something entirely different?

Were “researchers” really researching? If so, what were they researching?

Lexi Morgan is an opinion journalist for Intellihub News & Politics.

©2017. INTELLIHUB.COM. All Rights Reserved.

Russia Launches Biggest Arctic Military Expansion Since Fall Of USSR

In what will likely be interpreted as the latest "test" by the Kremlin to gauge western military preparedness, Reuters reports that Russia has quietly unleashed the biggest military build up targeting the Arctic since the fall of the Soviet Union.  "It is part of a push to firm Moscow"s hand in the High North as it vies for dominance with traditional rivals Canada, the United States, and Norway as well as newcomer China." It is also part of the ongoing scramble for resources above the commodity rich arctic circle.

Russian servicemen of the Arctic mechanised infantry brigade participate in a military
drill on riding reindeer and dog sleds near Murmansk, Russia January 23, 2017.

As Reuters notes, under Putin, Moscow is scrambling to re-open abandoned Soviet military, air and radar bases on remote Arctic islands and to build new ones, as it pushes ahead with a claim to almost half a million square miles of the Arctic. It regularly releases pictures of its troops training in white fatigues, wielding assault rifles as they zip along on sleighs pulled by reindeer.

"History is repeating itself," Vladimir Blinov, a guide on board the icebreaker Lenin, which is named after communist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, told a recent tour group. "Back then (in the 1950s) it was the height of the Cold War and the United States was leading in some areas. But we beat the Americans and built the world"s first nuclear ship (the Lenin). The situation today is similar."

The expansion has far-reaching financial and geopolitical ramifications: "the Arctic is estimated to hold more hydrocarbon reserves than Saudi Arabia and Moscow is putting down a serious military marker."

The Arctic, the U.S. Geological Survey estimates, holds oil and gas reserves equivalent to 412 billion barrels of oil, about 22 percent of the world’s undiscovered oil and gas. Low oil prices and Western sanctions imposed over Moscow"s actions in Ukraine mean new offshore Arctic projects have for now been mothballed, but the Kremlin is playing a longer game.

Some more details: according to Reuters, Russia is building three nuclear icebreakers, including the world"s largest, to bolster its fleet of around 40 breakers, six of which are nuclear. No other country has a nuclear breaker fleet, used to clear channels for military and civilian ships. Russia"s Northern Fleet, based near Murmansk in the Kola Bay"s icy waters, is also due to get its own icebreaker, its first, and two ice-capable corvettes armed with cruise missiles.

"Under (Soviet leader Mikhail) Gorbachev and (Russian President Boris) Yeltsin, our Arctic border areas were stripped bare," said Professor Pavel Makarevich, a member of the Russian Geographical Society. "Now they are being restored."

The build-up has been noticed in Washington. U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis, in a written submission following his confirmation hearing, described Moscow"s Arctic moves as "aggressive steps" and pledged to prioritize developing a U.S. strategy, according to Senator Dan Sullivan.

Naturally, Russia"s military expansion poses a dilemma for Trump, who wants to repair U.S.-Russia ties and team up with Moscow in Syria rather than get sucked into an Arctic arms race: it is guaranteed that US neocons will be scraming bloody murder unless Trump somehow responds to the US expansion.

The build-up is causing jitters elsewhere. As reported two weeks ago, 300 U.S. Marines landed in Norway this month for a six-month deployment, the first time since World War Two that foreign troops have been allowed to be stationed there. And with memories of Russia"s 2014 annexation of Ukraine"s Crimea still fresh, NATO is watching closely. Six of its members held an exercise in the region in 2015.

Ships moored in the Northern Fleet"s Arctic headquarters of Severomorsk, Russia.

Previously, the Soviet military packed more firepower in the Arctic, but it was set up to wage nuclear war with the United States not conventional warfare. Arctic islands were staging posts for long-range bombers to fly to America. But in an era when a slow-motion battle for the Arctic"s energy reserves is unfolding, Russia is creating a permanent and nimble conventional military presence with different and sometimes superior capabilities.

Sergei Shoigu, the defense minister, is presiding over the re-opening or creation of six military facilities, some of which will be ready by the year"s end. They include an island base on Alexandra Land to house 150 troops able to survive autonomously for 18 months. Called the Arctic Trefoil, officials have said they may deploy military jets there. MiG-31 fighters, designed to shoot down long-range bombers, or the SU-34, a frontline bomber, are seen as suitable.

Moscow"s biggest Arctic base, dubbed "Northern Shamrock", is meanwhile taking shape on the remote Kotelny Island, some 2,700 miles east of Moscow. It will be manned by 250 personnel and equipped with air defense missiles. Soviet-era radar stations and airstrips on four other Arctic islands are being overhauled and new ground-to-air missile and anti-ship missile systems have been moved into the region.

Russia is also spending big to winterize military hardware. "The modernization of Arctic forces and of Arctic military infrastructure is taking place at an unprecedented pace not seen even in Soviet times," Mikhail Barabanov, editor-in-chief of Moscow Defense Brief, told Reuters.

Barabanov added that two special Arctic brigades had been set up, something the USSR never had, and that there were plans to form a third as well as special Arctic coastal defense divisions. "Russia"s military activity in the Arctic is a bit provocative," said Barabanov. "It could trigger an arms race." Of course, Russia"s military activity could be simply seen as a preemptive move to western expansion in the region, as telegraphed by the recent build up of NATO forces in Eastern Europe.

* * *

Meanwhile, Russians are delighted by this latest "arms race."

In Murmansk, home to Russia"s icebreakers and just an hour from the Northern Fleet"s headquarters, the prospect of an Arctic renaissance is a source of pride. The city is steeped in Arctic and military history. The conning tower of the Kursk submarine, which sunk in 2000 after an explosion, looks down from a hill above the port. And in central Murmansk, scale models of dozens of icebreakers crowd the halls of the Murmansk Shipping Company, while sailors, wrapped in great coats, barrel along its streets.

For Russia, the issue of militarizing the Arctic boils down to a simple equation: we have to do it before others do.

"These Arctic bases are on our territory. Unlike some other countries we are not building them overseas," said Denis Moiseev, a member of the Russian Geographical Society. "Other countries are also very active in trying to push their borders towards the North Pole. Our army must be able to operate on all our territory in extreme conditions."

One country regularly mentioned as an unlikely Arctic rival is China, a close Moscow ally, which has observer status on the Arctic Council, the main forum for coordinating cooperation in the region, and is starting to build its own icebreakers.

Politicians are keener to discuss a commercial Arctic push. New roads and a railway are being built and ports overhauled as Moscow expands its freight capacity and, amid warmer climate cycles, readies for more traffic along its Arctic coast. It hopes the Northern Sea Route, which runs from Murmansk to the Bering Strait near Alaska, could become a mini Suez Canal, cutting sea transport times from Asia to Europe. But while the route"s popularity inside Russia is growing, relatively high transit costs and unpredictable ice coverage means it has lost some of its luster for foreign firms.

Grigory Stratiy, deputy governor of the Murmansk Region, told Reuters there was strong interest in sea route from Asian nations however and that new icebreakers would allow for year-round navigation in the 2020s. "Whatever the weather, the Northern Sea Route will be needed. Its use will definitely grow," said Stratiy, who said Russia was keen to attract foreign investment to the Arctic.

When asked about his country"s military build-up, he smiled. "There"s no reason to be afraid I can reassure you," he said, saying it was driven only by a need to modernize.

"Russia has never had any aggressive aims and won"t have them. We are very friendly people."

Secret Nazi Military Base Code-named ‘Treasure Hunter’ Discovered in the Arctic

Moscow, Russia – A secret Nazi-era tactical base has been discovered by Russian researchers on the island of Alexandra Land in the Arctic Circle, located 620 miles from the North Pole.

The site, code-named “Schatzgraber” or “Treasure Hunter” was built by Nazis in 1942 – a year after Hitler invaded Russia – and was primarily used as a tactical weather station that was crucial in planning the strategic movements of Nazi troops, warships and submarines.

“Before it was only known from written sources, but now we also have real proof,” said Evgeny Ermolov, a senior researcher at the Russian Arctic National Park, in a statement. The written source Ermolov referenced is the book “Wettertrupp Haudegen,” published in 1954, and written in German.

The odd tale of how the base was abandoned in 1944 has often been dismissed as a strange war-time myth. Reportedly, supplies had dwindled to dangerously low levels and the officers stationed at the outpost were forced to kill and eat polar bear, which was ultimately infected with trichinosis and caused everyone to become severely ill. The scientists stationed at the base had to eventually be rescued by a German U-boat.

After 72 years, the long-lost Nazi “Treasure Hunter” base in the arctic has been found. Although there are no reports of the Ark of the Covenant or a UFO base, a number of wartime relics for the Nazi-era have been recovered from the outpost, according to the Russian Arctic National Park.

Many of the objects appear to be marked and dated, thus allowing for confirming their authenticity. Included among the artifacts are objects bearing Swaztikas and Nazi insignia. These artifacts will eventually be taken back to Russia where they will be studied, archived and eventually put on public display.

Among the ruins of bunkers, rusted bullets and other relics dating from the Second World War have been discovered at the site, many of which remain in a good condition having been preserved by the cold weather, according to the Independent.

“About 500 items of historical value have been collected on the grounds of the former Treasure Hunter German station that operated on the Alexandra Land island of Franz Josef Land from September 1943 until July 1944,” Russian Arctic National Park press secretary Yulia Petrova said in a statement. “They include munitions and military equipment, everyday items, personal effects, and fragments of meteorological devices.”

In total, over 500 objects have been found, including a batch of well preserved documents, according to the Daily Mail. The code-name given to the base, by the Nazis, led to speculation that the outpost had a secret mission — with some experts believing that it may have served as a base for the pursuit of ancient artifacts, many of which were believed to hold supernatural powers by the Ahnenerbe.

The Ahnenerbe was an institute in Nazi Germany that researched the archaeological and cultural history of the Aryan race with heavy occult influences. Founded on July 1, 1935, by Heinrich Himmler, Herman Wirth, and Richard Walther Darré, the Ahnenerbe later conducted experiments and launched expeditions in an attempt to prove that mythological Nordic populations had once ruled the world.

Alexandra Land, the region where the base was found, was a disputed territory for many years but is now officially recognized as part of the Russian Federation. Russia is reportedly planning to build a permanent military base in the region.

Do you think the Russians found any hidden ancient artifacts or other occult objects possessed by the Nazis?