Environmental aspects of industrial development of oil and gas fields in the Arctic territories of the Komi Republic

Abstract

The paper considers the ecological aspects of the development of oil and gas fields in the Arctic zone of the Komi Republic. The authors inform about the state of the resource base, the dynamics of oil production, drilling of wells, and the increase in reserves. Oil and gas production dominates in the region’s economy, while at the same time impacts negatively on the environment. Field development, geological exploration, drilling of exploration and production wells, laying of pipelines, transportation of oil and other types of work are inevitably accompanied by harmful emissions into the atmosphere, pollution of water bodies and the earth surface. There is a thermal, mechanical and chemical impact on the environment. The situation is getting worse due to the increase in the share of hard-to-recover dense and high-viscosity oil in recoverable oil reserves. The development of hard-to-recover oil deposits is carried out via technologies that cause additional environmental damage. A large amount of oil enters the environment not during its extraction, but due to accidents at oil pipelines, especially inter-field and intra-field ones. The Arctic regions are ecologically very vulnerable due to the spread of permafrost. The technogenic thermal impact activates various negative processes, such as subsidence, swelling, erosion, landslides, flooding, waterlogging. Among the most polluted Arctic regions where oil production is carried out, is the Usinsky region with a number of large oil fields being developed, and extensive network of oil pipelines laid. The authors suggest a number of measures to minimize the negative impact on the environment during the construction and operation of oil production facilities. They outline the need to comply with the equipment technological operating modes, carry out preventive measures, including control of the technical condition of the basic equipment, to analyze the transported products (physical and chemical properties of the working environment), as well as to implement measures for the protection of surface and ground waters. It is expedient to upgrade the pipeline infrastructure in a timely manner with the use of the latest achievements in the field of pipe surface protection, and the elimination of decommissioned boreholes.