Arctic as a Way to the Future

On May 29 under the Distinguished Lecturer programme, implemented by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), Ukhta State Technical University hosted a lecture of the Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, academician of the Academy of Natural Sciences, the scientific leader of the Arctic Oil and Gas Technologies at Gubkin RSU of Oil and Gas, Anatoly Zolotukhin.

At the beginning of the meeting the Chairman of the Timan- Pechora Section of SPE, Georgy Buslayev introduced Anatoly Zolotukhin as "the main distinguished lecturer in Russia", and at once made more specific, main because the only one Russian lecturer under DL programme. Professor Zolotukhin expressed his hope that this situation will soon change, including through joining of representatives of the regional universities such as USTU.

Lecture on "Petroleum resources in the Arctic: Basis of petroleum activities of the 21st Century" was devoted to a general analysis of the situation in this unique region of the world and the prospects for its development. Anatoly Zolotukhin, above all, drew attention to the economic, industrial and environmental aspects of the development of the subsoil of the Arctic shelf. In particular, he noted that they are all closely connected with current political trends.

According to the calculations of Professor, in 2040 (if the industrial development of the Arctic will become a reality), the volume of world oil and gas production could increase by one and a half times. Russia, USA, Canada and Norway will provide the lion's share of this growth.

However, in the U.S. and Europe today there is a persistent reluctance to acknowledge the role of Russia as the world's leading "producer" in the Arctic. According to Prof. Zolotukhin, it is dictated solely by political ambitions, as there is no doubt in the Russian superiority in the scientific community.

Another issue is that Russia lags far behind its foreign competitors in terms of technology and does not have enough quantity of sufficiently trained personnel (but successfully trains them for foreign industry!). In addition, we have been falling behind in the field of environmental protection.

Therefore, to confirm its reputation as a leader in the production of oil and gas resources, our country has to increase efforts in the field of education and innovation, fundamentally improve logistics, this "Achilles heel" of the Northern Sea Route, as well as to solve many other issues. In the opinion of Anatoly Zolotukhin, if to do this wisely and without come-and-go manner, the most optimistic forecasts will come true.