OIL AND GAS EXPLORATION STRATEGY IN EVALUATION OF FUEL AND ENERGY POTENTIAL OF RUSSIAN ARCTIC SHELF

Oil and gas are the most important resources of the Arctic region. Oil and gas prospecting, exploration and development in the Arctic region is associated with solving complex technical and technological problems. One of the most important achievements was the discovery of the global Arctic zone of oil and gas occurrence. Numerous local objects were mapped and 22 hydrocarbon deposits were found on the shelves of the Barents, Pechora and Kara Seas. In connection with the prospects of developing oil and gas exploration in other Arctic waters (the Laptev Sea, the East Siberian Sea, the Chukchi Sea) geophysical surveys and deep drilling were proposed to be carried out. In the area of transit shallow water it is advisable to use jack-up platforms with retractable legs. Deep drilling from islands is suggested for other parts of the seas with increasing depth and difficult ice conditions (icebergs, drifting ice fields, storms) and other climatic characteristics that increase the risk of drilling from offshore platforms. For performing hydrological and geophysical studies (studies of temperatures in layers, salinity, density, gas hydrates, and other characteristics of water in marine basins) it is possible to use "point" drilling and submarine fleet to study bottom sediments and geological section in promising areas.