Donskoi: 47 mineral resource centers created in the Arctic
© RIA Novosti. Mikhail Klimentiev

Donskoi: 47 mineral resource centers created in the Arctic

There are 47 mineral resource centers established in the Arctic that unite about 70 percent of all northern oil and gas fields, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Sergei Donskoi said in an interview to RIA Novosti.

"Today we have established 47 mineral resource centers of hydrocarbons in the Arctic. These centers include 247 fields with approved exploration projects or projects included in companies' plans where the construction of the necessary infrastructure has already begun. This is 68 percent of all 365 Arctic fields," Donskoi said. 

The minister noted that they were mostly operating companies, but there also were enterprises yet to be launched: Arctic LNG, Pechora LNG and others. In addition, possible centers of oil and gas production have been identified in the underexplored Arctic areas in Yakutia, the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Komi Republic.

"Today the Arctic already accounts for 85 percent of gas and 11 percent of oil production in Russia, let alone many metals. This promotes the region's development and enhances research and other industry sectors. The Arctic is an important source of a number of mineral resources in addition to the explored regions we have now," Donskoi added.

The minister also noted that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment was going to pay special attention to creating key mineral resource centers of raw hydrocarbons, which would determine the economic development of the Arctic in the future. At the same time, industrial development must not damage the environment, Donskoi concluded.