Geology. Козлова Е.П. - 48 стр.

intense and where stretching prevail in the upper core ;and a special type of plutonic
structure-tectospheres (down to the depth of 600 km).
       Russian Biologist A.Lyubishchev once said that the past of sciences is like a
collection of unfinished architectural ensembles. And it was Dr.Yuri Sheinmann who
laid the foundations of several such monuments.

                                       Northern Oil

       The far north of Russia is an inhospitable sheet of ice and snow more than
half the size of the 48 contiguous United States. But to local and foreign companies
hungry for new supplies, the lure of profits has started to make the region inviting.
With huge reserves of oil and natural gas beneath frigid seas, the Russian Arctic is
one of the last untapped treasure-troves of fuel. Russian oil companies in particular
are hoping that the Arctic becomes their next Siberia, the main source of Russia’s
combustible fuel for the last 30 years. By some measures, nearly half of Siberia’s
oil reserves have been exhausted. «The Russian North has great potential to
compensate for the drop in production in older wells in Siberia», said Vagit
Alekperov,president of LUKoil Holdings. LUKoil has aligned with natural gas
monopoly GAZprom, and Conoco, a U.S.oil company, to tap the Arctic. It is
estimated that these companies, along with others, will invest more than $20 billion
to extract its oil and gas.
       LUKoil says it plans to spend at least $5 billion to develop the Timan
Pechora region in the Komi Republic – and the neighboring Nenets autonomous
region .Developing the Russian Arctic’s energy resources, however ,will reguire
many more billions of dollars than have been committed. «The whole Arctic shelf is
a vast province of giant oil and das fields, but there is not enough money to develop
all of it», said Igor Gramberg, Director of the Institute of Oceanology and Mineral
Resources in St. Petersburg. Foreigners hare been reluctant to bet, largely because
of Russia’s unstable history, shifting tax laws and reputation for violating contracts
and reneging on debts.
          Conoco, which has operated in Russia for nearly a decade,has one modest
operation,a goint venture with LUKoil in Timan Pechora known as the Polar Lights
Company ,which poduces about 13 million barrels of oil a year. Conoco and
LUKoil have agreed to develop another oil field-known as the Northern Territory-
in Timan Pechora .
          Aside from the coast of drilling in the Arctic ,delivering gas and oil to
market is perhaps the greatest challenge in a region that is almost always frozen.
LUKoil has just completed a $ 40million oil terminal on the Pechora Sea, which
will handle about 18 million barrels a year, with plans to triple that soon .The
company has also spent the last two years creating an Arctic tanker fleet. LUKoil
and other Russian companies are also planning a pipeline that will send oil south to
the Gulf of Finland near St. Petersburg.



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