Effects of Permafrost Drilling: Shell & RGS to Research

The Russian Geographical Society (RGS) and Anglo-Dutch group Shell have signed an agreement on the project "Monitoring human impacts on the permafrost in oil and gas company activities", according to Russian officilal news agency Arctic-info.

Specialists will carry out geophysical surveys of the condition of the permafrost in Western Siberia in the region of existing fields, as well as build a geological model of temperature increase of permafrost soils. All surveys will be conducted will be undertaken by lecturers and students the I.M. Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas.

"The result of this work will be recommendations, on the one hand, to preserve the fragile nature of the North, and on the other hand, for the industry to properly maintain its work properly," said the Rector of the I.M. Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas, Viktor Martynov. "We hope to be able to consolidate the separate experiences in this area, and also to understand how to work efficiently and safely." Martynov said that this is a unique pioneering project for the world.

"Arctic countries, including Russia, have made it clear that resources of the Arctic can help humanity to provide energy for itself, only if they are developed responsibly," said the president of Shell Russia, Olivier Lazare. According to him, the results of the joint project will be accessible to a wide range of stakeholders and will help determine the optimum technological solution when working in the permafrost.

Source: Arctic-Info