... of militarizing the Arctic. In reality, Russia’s only real military presence here is in Arkhangelsk and Murmansk. These ports are Russia’s only access point to the world’s ocean. Strategically, there are no other viable options. Developing the Arctic economically through new shipping routes or oil and gas projects is made all the more difficult by the harsh climate, the poor existing infrastructure and the Arctic’s vast expanses. Today, there is no success story that Russia might use as a template to follow. Time and money are the only answers to ...
... observers maintain sanctions pressure on Russia.
In 2014, the US and the European Union (EU) introduced restrictive measures against the Russian Federation, which are actively associated with a notion of sanctions in the foreign doctrine [
1
].
Ivan Panichkin:
Arctic Oil and Gas Resource Development: Current Situation and Prospects?
However, it should be noted that the prevailing point of view in the Russian legal doctrine is that the notions of sanctions and unilateral restrictive measures should not be confused. The ...
... actors, primarily Asian states, in the Arctic cooperation. Under such circumstances, international cooperation in the Arctic may undergo serious changes, and the volume of contracts for Western-made shelf development equipment may decline significantly.
Arctic Oil and Gas Resource Development: Current Situation and Prospects
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RIAC Longread "Arctic Oil and Gas Resource Development: Current Situation and Prospects"
....
As a consequence, there is a risk that Rosneft and Gazprom could default on their license obligations. This is why they have asked for state support, including extending the license terms.
On the whole, despite the current difficulties, developing arctic oil and gas reserves remains a strategic priority for the Russian Federation, considering that the total recoverable resources on the Arctic shelf are estimated at 106 billion tonnes of oil equivalent and 70 trillion cubic metres of natural gas.
Having said that,...
... Besides, in contrast to the GOP, Democrats profess multilateral cooperation of polar states including Russia on the Arctic Council platform, which is also aligned with Russian national interests.
Charles Ebinger, John P. Banks, Alisa Schackmann.
Offshore Oil and Gas Governance in the Arctic: a Leadership Role for the U.S.
Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution, 2014, p. 7.
Kevin McGwin.
A Clear and Presidential Opportunity
// The Arctic Journal, January 28, 2015.
Ebinger et al. Op. cit., p. 7.
The New Foreign Policy Frontier....
... highly innaccurate, but cannot be avoided due to the necessity to draw trends longer than a few decades.
As the above hinted in the case of Russia, there is a peculiar situation as technically the world is facing an impeding disaster, yet as the Arctic melts 22% of the worlds undiscovered gas and oil reserves can be found offshore strategically located within its reach. So, it is hard not to wonder, if for Russia it is the best thing since slice bread! Still, before Russia can uncork the champagne, there are caveats. Firstly, Russia has not yet ...
