Russia
Russia launches icebreaker to boost Arctic oilfield
(Gleb Bryanski/Reuters, 18 December 2009) -- MOSCOW - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin launched an oil tanker on Friday capable of slicing through over a metre of ice, bringing Russia a step toward its decade-long ambition to launch its first offshore oilfield in the Arctic. State-run Gazprom has delayed the launch of its Prirazlomnoye oilfield for nearly ten years as it persists with domestic firms to equip the project, helping Russia develop the technical know-how to conquer other Arctic mineral riches. The 260-metre-long Kirill Lavrov was launched at the Admiralty Shipyards in St Petersburg, Putin's home city. "A year ago I saw anxious eyes of shipbuilders as they started work. It was a professional challenge," Putin was quoted as saying on the government's website, www.government.ru. Foreign reporters are not allowed to visit the shipyards. "It is amazing that such a giant was built in such a short period of time," Putin told shipbuilders. Russia, along with other countries bordering the Arctic, wants to assert its claims to the region's potentially huge mineral riches and is seeking to develop the relevant technology and fleet to develop lucrative deposits. The Kirill Lavrov, named after a popular Soviet actor renowned for playing the role of Vladimir Lenin, can break ice 1.2 metres thick when moving astern at a speed of three knots. It can reach a speed of 16 knots moving forward in open waters.
Posted 19 December 2009; 11:11:39 PM. Permalink
Tagged: Circumpolar News, December09, Oil, gas, non-renewable resources, Russia, Transportation, Infrastructure and Construction
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