Fossil Fuels

Russia's recovering economy relies heavily on its exports of commodities. As oil and natural gas (as well as metals and timber) account for 80% of its exports, exploration and development of these fossil fuels is crucial to the country's ability to survive and grow.

Oil (or petroleum) is a non-renewable natural resource, meaning that it occurs naturally and cannot be re-made. As the oil industry faces potential depletion (completely using up) the world's oil supply, oil exploration is one way to possibly prevent future shortages of this fossil fuel. Further exploration and development, however, will not increase the amount of oil in the ground, but will temporarily prolong production. Continued consumption of oil is also controversial since, as a fossil fuel, it releases carbon dioxide (CO2) into the Earth's atmosphere when it is used (burned), which contributes to global warming.

Natural gas is a major source for generating electricity through the use of gas- and steam-driven turbines. Natural gas also burns cleaner than other fossil fuels; it produces about 30% less carbon dioxide than burning petroleum, and about 45% less than burning coal, making it the cleanest source of fossil fuel power available. It is predicted, however, that the world's supply of natural gas should be exhausted around the year of 2085.

Five prospective offshore underground oil and natural gas basins have been found on Russia's Chukotka territory: Anadyrsky, Vostochno-Khatyrsky (East-Khatyr), Yuzhno-Chukotsky (South-Chukot), Severno-Chukotsky (North-Chukot) and Vostochno-Sibirsky (East-Siberian). Exploration of these is difficult because of inaccessibility and dangerous conditions; development of these areas will require complex and expensive production methods.

More accessible and appealing are the oil and natural gas basins in the Bering Sea-Anadyrsky and Khatyrsky. Numerous fossil fuel deposits have been discovered in the mainland part of the Anadyrsky basin, and this area is considered ready for industrial development.

Also of interest is the eastern part of the Anadyrsky basin in the Anadyr Bay, in the Bearing Sea. Development of this area would require the development good sea-transport communication facilities, which would then lead to the eventual exploration of the remote and hard-to-reach seas in the Eastern Arctic Zone.

Least explored is the East Siberian Sea, though several major gas and oil deposits are suspected to be hidden beneath its frigid waters.

Coal is a fossil fuel composed mostly of carbon and is the largest single source of fuel for the generation of electricity worldwide.

One way to extract coal from the ground is through surface mining. Heavy equipment (such as earth-movers) remove the soil and rock above an underground deposit so that the coal can be excavated (dug up). Surface mining generally destroys large areas of landscape, harming local ecosystems and the environment.

Another way to mine coal is through underground mining, where people and equipment work deep below the surface of the Earth, digging and blasting for coal. Fires are a major environmental risk of this method. Hundreds of coal mines smolder in the United States, China, Russia, India, South Africa, and Europe; the inaccessibility and size of these fires make many of them impossible to extinguish or control.

There are 13 known coal deposits on the territory of the Chukotka region, satisfying regional demand as well as export. This coal also meets international standards of quality and could become a competitive product on the world market.

Source and image: courtesy of http://www.chukotka.org