The Rector of St. Petersburg Mining University pointed that the Far North, especially the continental shelf, "has a huge potential”, which should become a reliable support for the socio-economic development of our country in the future.
On Tuesday, September 21st, the International Conference on Oil and Gas Resources Development in the Russian Arctic and the Continental Shelf RAO / CIS Offshore started. The opening ceremony took place in the Mariinsky Palace attended by politicians, scientists, and representatives of energy companies interested in raising the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the development of the Polar field. Among the organizers of the event was the Government of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Energy, Gazprom and Rosneft, and the Kurchatov Institute.
Rector of Mining University Vladimir Litvinenko took the platform and repeated that minerals will remain the backbone of the domestic economy for many decades to come, and the discussion is not just about fossil fuels, but also about metals required for green energy development such as copper and nickel. The demand for them will grow especially fast around the world because they are used in the production of wind turbines and electric cars.
“I won’t overload you with figures, especially since they differ markedly from each other in various sources. But it is clear that the Arctic has enormous potential. The resources that lie in its depths should work for future generations. To make it happen, we already now need to increase our mineral resource base, build infrastructure, create and implement technologies to facilitate production in hard-to-access areas of the Far North. Of course, this is only possible if we pay attention to science and make it an effective mechanism for development. Otherwise, we will turn into a colonial country, dependent on other states. Without science, without progress, the development of a major power is impossible,” Litvinenko stressed.
He also drew attention to the fact that up to 40% of the funds allocated for research are spent not on acquiring new knowledge, but on “solving ephemeral problems that the world community throws at us.” For example, hydrogen energy, which will never replace natural gas due to many problems caused by physical laws. One of them is high-temperature combustion, which produces nitrogen oxide that is hazardous to human health.
“Raw materials have always been and will remain one of the pillars of Russia’s social and economic development. The second pillar is intellectual potential. Knowledge today is rapidly becoming obsolete, so engineers with a wide range of professional competencies will be even more in demand by businesses in the future. Their task is not only to increase the profitability of Arctic production but also to minimize the anthropogenic impact on nature in the context of sustainable development goals,” summarized the Rector of Mining University.
We should note that the International Conference on Oil and Gas Resources Development of the Russian Arctic and the continental shelf RAO / CIS Offshore was designed for four days. Its plenary session and round tables will take place in Gorny multifunctional complex; there is also an exhibition of Polar oil and gas fields development projects and modern technologies used in their progress.
