FSUE VNIIOkeangeologia named after I. S. Gramberg:

S. A. Kozlov, Scientific Secretary, Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences, e-mail: kozlov@vniio.ru

Conditions of oil and gas development in the arctic seas are characterized by a wide development of weak and unstable soils in the bottom part of the geological section. Among them are: the holocene clay and sandy sediments in any state, as well as the deposits of the upper-neopleistocene subcomplex: clays, which had frozen in the pleistocene and had let in the holocene, clays, clay loams and sandy loams, located in the frozen condition; the sands and sandy loams, containing gas, including with the properties of quicksands. The structure of the permafrost zone of the arctic shelf is characterized by a wide development of one-two, and possibly three horizons of permafrost and ice, developed fragmentary. It is possible to allocate two basic types of distribution of gas: in deep-water areas, where not frozen soils are spread, and in the shallow areas with developed permafrost rocks. In many cases, the development zone of weak fluid (or extremely unstable in the case of the permafrost) soils with a minimum load is distributed to several tens of meters in the vertical direction. The use of the gravity platforms on the West-Arctic shelf of Russia may cause a catastrophic situation, associated with supernormal diving foundation in the bottom sediments and its uneven plunge.

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