Yamal to be international outpost of Arctic development
For example, our foreign trade almost doubled: 2015 foreign trade turnover amounted to 1,381$ billion, compared to 707,3$ million in 2014. Such a boost resulted mostly from a series of well-thought decisions made by Russian government and Autonomous Districts' business enterprises.
Modern and high-tech equipment trading aimed foreign markets was repurposed to comply with the needs of South and South-East Asia instead of those of the USA and Europe. Indonesia, South Korea, Singapore, and China are now seeing as the main business partners. Besides, the Russian Federation seems to have firm economic ties with Italy, Finland, France, Belgium, and even the USA.
May we remind you, the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District is a strategic fuel & energy constituency of the Russian Federation. 85% of natural gas and about 18% of oil annually recovered in the Russian Federation are extracted here. About 60 fuel & energy complex companies operate in the District ("Gazprom", "Gazprom neft", "Rosneft", OC, "Lukoil", OC, " Novatek", etc). New oil-and-gas recovery centers are being created and infrastructural communications being developed.
The “Gazprom” company establishing the Bovanevsky gas recovery center was the point of departure for the major Arctic subsoil resources development. The “Bovanenkovo – Sabetta” railroad will connect Yamal railroad infrastructure with the Sabetta seaport and allow for cargo shipment via the Northern Sea Route upon its completion. It will enable consistent year-round transport connection.
The Sabetta seaport construction is a part of the “Yamal LNG” project implementation plan. The seaport and Northern Latitudinal Railroad will grant Ural and Siberia industry entry to new markets, enable the best possible solution to the transport logistics issue, and shorten the distance liquefied natural gas has to travel to reach prospective consumer markets of the APAC countries. The project provides for annual production of about 16,5 tons of liquefied natural gas and up to 1,2 million tons of gas condensate, as well as for their subsequent shipment to the Asian-Pacific Region and Europe. Moreover, all the liquefied natural gas to be sold has already been bought out under the already signed export contracts.
It is worth mentioning the “Novatek” company plans on building the second liquefied natural gas plant called “Arctic-LNG-2” on the Gydan Peninsula, Yamal. The plant will have the same capacity as the 1st one (16,5 million tons). It is to be launched in 2022-2025.
The “Gazprom neft” company commissioned an Arctic oil loading terminal located at the Gulf of Ob. It is meant for year-round off-loading of oil recovered at the Novoportovskoe oil-and-gas condensate field at oil tankers. More than 300.000 tons of oil have already been shipped via the Northern Sea Route since the terminal launch.
Yamali processing industry still manages to achieve higher-than-anticipated growth, too. The Purovsky gas condensate processing plant capacity was upgraded last year. The “Gazprom” company plans on commissioning the Novourengoyskiy gas-derived chemicals integrated plant. This is a front-line project that aims to connect manufacturing of ethylene from mixed hydrocarbon gas and subsequent low-density polyethylene manufacturing into a single manufacturing chain.
Our region follows the set path despite undergoing hardships. Search for new ways of promoting investments into social, transport, and public utilities infrastructures is becoming more and more of a topical issue. We have a solid body of laws providing a framework for major transport infrastructure projects implementation preparation.
The Northern Latitudinal Railway construction is the main topic in this regard. The project provides for development of the Obskaya – Salekhard – Nadim – Pangodi – Novy Urengoy – Korotchaevo route railway infrastructure. The project aims at creation of a single transport infrastructure allowing for development of Russia’s Arctic and northern seas’ shelf natural resources.
Today, Yamal is one of the leaders when it comes to the amount of construction activities per capita. More than 200 kilometers of new roads have been laid through bogs and dozens of rivers. A bridge across the Nadim River – one of the crucial parts of the Northern Latitudinal Railway – has been built.
Favorable infrastructural and tax conditions allowed for industrial advance. Yamal of today is not simply a stockpot of the Russian Federation and the whole world, but an international outpost for the Arctic development.