FSUE VNIIOkeangeologia named after I. S. Gramberg:

O. I. Suprunenko, Deputy Director of Scientific Work, Head of Arctic and World Ocean Oil & Gas Department, Professor, Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences, e-mail: onaimo@centurion.vniio.nw.ru

V. V. Suslova, Candidate of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences, Divisional Manager

By «Western-Arctic Oil-and-Gas Province» term, which is commonly used by the mass media and in scientific geological literature, are basically understood the oil-and-gas basins of the western Arctic seas of Russian Federation (Barents, Pechora, and Каrа). All the currently discovered oil, gas and condensate fields at the Russian Arctic shelf are located here. More than 70 % of the ultimate potential hydrocarbon resources of continental shelf of Russia are concentrated within the seas. Distribution of these resources along the area and across the section is considered in the article in details. Works of six license holders on the 18 areas (on the 16.09.2011) are directed mainly to detailed field appraisal and preparation for the development of already discovered fields. Currently, the only near shore Yukharovskoe deposit, located in the Tazov Bay, is producing at the Arctic shelf. For about 120000 km of seismic lines (15000 km of them are on Russian sector of the Barents sea), have been performed at the expenses of Federal Budget funds during from 2003 till 2010. Important results are obtained at the northern areas of Barents and Kara seas. For the proper completion of this regional step, it is necessary to solve the problem of both management and accomplishment of the parametric drilling. Realistic working program of the Russian Arctic shelf development for the nearest 10-15 years is the primary importance.

1. Gramberg I. S., Suprunenko O. I. Neftegazonosnye i perspektivnye osadochnye basseyny evraziyskoy kontinentalnoy okrainy Rossii. Rossiyskaya Arktika: geologicheskaya istoriya, minerageniya, geologiya (Oil and gas and prospective sedimentary basins of Russian Eurasian continental margin. Russian Arctic: geological history, mineralogy, geology). Saint Petersburg: VNIIOkeangeologia, 2002, pp. 421–429.

2. Suprunenko O. I., Viskunova K. G., Suslova V. V. Razvedka i Okhrana Nedr – Prospecting and the Protection of Mineral Resources. 2005, No. 6, pp. 10–13.

3. Shelf Rossii (prezentatsiya doklada ministra prirodnykh resursov RF na zasedanii Pravitelstva RF 12 maya 2005 g) (Russian shelf (presentation of the report of Russian Minister of Natural Resources at the meeting of the Government of Russian Federation 12 may 2005)). Moscow: MNR RF Publ., 2005.

4. Karaganov V. V., Kulpin L. G., Murzin R. R., Simonov Yu. A. Neftyanoe khozyaystvo – Oil Industry. 2006, No. 6, pp. 76–78.