FSUE VNIIOkeangeologia named after I. S. Gramberg:

V. D. Kaminsky, Director, Doctorof Geological and Mineralogical Sciences, e-mail: kaminsky@vniio.ru

V. L. Ivanov, Chief Reaearcher, Doctorof Geologicaland Mineralogical Sciences

The first Russian map of the prospects of oil-and-gas potential of the arctic shelf was composed at the end of the 1960s by oil researchers of Arctic geology Institute under the lead of I. S. Gramberg. As an answer to this initiative, in 1972 was organized the Scientific Production Association “Sevmorgeo”. Under the direction of I.S. Gramberg, it started the exploration works for oil and gas on the shelves of Barentz and Kara seas. Later, the specialized facilities of USSR Mingazprom joined the geological survey process. By the 1990s, 10 industrial deposits on the western Arctic shelf, including 3 unique (nowdays it is more than 25 objects) were discovered and prepared for further development. At the same time I. S. Gramberg organized a large-scale interdepartmental complex of scientific and production works on the placer mineral resources of the continental shelf and islands. Finally, academician I.S. Gramberg was one of the founders of a brand new direction of resource activity – geological survey in the deep-water areas of the World Ocean.