MOSCOW, June 28 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s oil and gas extraction infrastructure in the Arctic could become a target for sabotage attempts by other countries as the race to exploit the Arctic shelf leads to conflicts of interest between competing nations, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said on Friday.
“The settlement of these conflicts could very easily exceed the boundaries of diplomacy. It’s quite possible that Russia’s oil and gas production facilities might see secret sabotage attempts by rival countries,” Rogozin, who is responsible for the defense industry in the government, said on Friday.
He added that Russia is not yet ready for such threats, which would require modern monitoring equipment able to operate both above ground and underwater.
According to Rogozin, Russia would need to identify the nature and source of the threat in order to strike back accordingly.
“NATO has long been discussing plans to reinforce the naval grouping in the Arctic region under the pretext of safeguarding commercial navigation,” Rogozin, who is Russia’s former envoy to Brussels, said without giving further details.
The race in the Arctic to exploit previously inaccessible resources, accounting for an estimated 13 percent of the world's undiscovered oil and 30 percent of its untapped natural gas, has accelerated in recent years. Russian energy giants Gazprom and Rosneft have obtained licenses to explore the Russian continental shelf – an initiative that has been strongly opposed by environmentalists.
http://en.rian.ru
28/6/13
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“The settlement of these conflicts could very easily exceed the boundaries of diplomacy. It’s quite possible that Russia’s oil and gas production facilities might see secret sabotage attempts by rival countries,” Rogozin, who is responsible for the defense industry in the government, said on Friday.
He added that Russia is not yet ready for such threats, which would require modern monitoring equipment able to operate both above ground and underwater.
According to Rogozin, Russia would need to identify the nature and source of the threat in order to strike back accordingly.
“NATO has long been discussing plans to reinforce the naval grouping in the Arctic region under the pretext of safeguarding commercial navigation,” Rogozin, who is Russia’s former envoy to Brussels, said without giving further details.
The race in the Arctic to exploit previously inaccessible resources, accounting for an estimated 13 percent of the world's undiscovered oil and 30 percent of its untapped natural gas, has accelerated in recent years. Russian energy giants Gazprom and Rosneft have obtained licenses to explore the Russian continental shelf – an initiative that has been strongly opposed by environmentalists.
http://en.rian.ru
28/6/13
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Related:
The Battle for the Arctic /Η αντιπαράθεση με το λιώσιμο των πάγων στην Αρκτικη
Plateau continental arctique: la partie russe serait plus grande de 1,2 M km²
Gazprom Still Undecided on Shtokman Arctic Field
Greenpeace: Υποθαλάσσιο λάβαρο κατά των πετρελαϊκών γεωτρήσεων .... «Φύτεψαν» μια σημαία στο θαλάσσιο βυθό του Βόρειου Πόλου (VIDEO YT)
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Russian Navy to Expand Air Patrols in Arctic....
ΑπάντησηΔιαγραφήMOSCOW, January 3 (RIA Novosti) – Combat aircraft from Russia’s Northern Fleet will extend the ranges of their patrol flights over the Arctic in 2014 using a network of revamped Soviet-era airfields, the fleet’s spokesman said Friday.
“In 2014, the naval aviation of the Northern Fleet will significantly expand the geography of Arctic patrol flights, including with the use of the Temp airfield on the New Siberian Islands,” Capt. 1st Rank Vadim Serga said.
Serga said the fleet’s Tu-142 and Il-38 reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft carried out over 30 patrol missions in the Arctic last year.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the Russian military in December to boost its presence in the Arctic and complete the development of military infrastructure in the region in 2014.
The Russian Defense Ministry has announced plans to deploy a combined-arms force in the Arctic by 2015.
As part of the ambitious program, the Russian military will reopen airfields and ports on the New Siberian Islands and the Franz Josef Land archipelago, as well as at least seven airfields on the continental part of the Arctic Circle that were mothballed in 1993.
Arctic territories, believed to hold vast untapped oil and gas reserves, have increasingly been at the center of disputes between the United States, Russia, Canada, Norway and Denmark as rising temperatures lead to a reduction in sea ice.
Russia has made claims on several Arctic shelf areas and is planning to defend its bid at the United Nations.
http://en.ria.ru/military_news/20140103/186198885/Russian-Navy-to-Expand-Air-Patrols-in-Arctic.html
3/1/14