Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Tazovskiy, a small town on the Arctic coast.
It is the middle of March, but the weather is freezing with temperatures at around minus
30 degrees Celsius. The best
way to get around is in a vezdekhod. These vehicles go everywhere.
This weekend the Nenets, the indigenous population of the Yamal region, are meeting for their
annual herdsmen
festival.
The most prestigious competition -- the reindeer sledge race.
The race is being held on the ice at the harbour of Tazovskiy. And it's not only the Nenets
who go to the festival.
Sergey Raykyevich is a regular guest. He is the head geologist at the regional subsidiary
of Gazprom, Russia's leading
gas company.
"The holiday is organized to show people in the Far North that their work is essential,
to fix it in their minds that they
are not living here in vain, that their presence here has a purpose."
Exotic sports like sledge jumping is a part of the festival. Competitors have to jump
over rows of sledge-like hurdles.
"It's astonishing -- I have just seen a sportsman jumping over 113 sledges in a row, in temperatures
of minus 30, with
that wind."
The festival is sponsored by the gas company itself. People win motorised sledges bearing
the sponsor's emblem.
Gazprom is also making large contributions to the regional budget.
One of Raykyevich's jobs is to visit Nenets clans in the tundra and invite them to the
festival.
The Nenets wander far from their settlements as they follow their herds of reindeer. And
Raykyevich has to go out into
the tundra and look for them.
After a rough one hour drive across the snowy tundra, he finds their tents.
Raykyevich is meeting the head of the clan. Oleg Khariki has been staying here for a while.
At this time of year, the
Nenets cannot stay in one place for long. The reindeer search for food under the snow,
and they soon graze their way
around the camp.
Khariki invites his guest into the chum, a Nenets tent made from reindeer hide. It's
warm in the tent, as the fire is
burning. Gazprom pays a lot of attention to the Nenets for a simple reason.
Yamal is an autonomous region, and Nenets' representatives have a say when it comes to
new agreements over
exploration of gas fields.
"We, the gas prospectors and geologists, occupy a very small part of their territory. We have
to, because it is
necessary for our country, Russia. We have made huge finds here, the fabulous riches
of gas and oil, which we must
take. Of course, with their help. Obviously, we have to pay more attention to the indigenous
population, help them
more than today, because, no matter how you look at it, we are asking them to move a little
bit. Not much, just a little,
in the places where we have to develop our gas fields."
Raykyevich's mission has been successful -- the Nenets catch their animals. The best reindeer
pool the Khariki's
sledge to Tazovskiy. They've promised to go to the festival.
Roads in the Yamal region are good by Russian standards -- paid for by Gazprom money.
Hundreds of kilometres south of Tazovskiy lies Novozapolyarniy, Gazprom's latest gas
field. Sergey Raykyevich visits the drill hall to
check on its progress.
Flarid Shakirov, who is in charge of the operation, comes out to meet him. The work is at its
most critical point. The
men are laying the pipes which will pump gas to the surface.
An if anything goes wrong, the pressure could totally destroy the equipment, tearing the
pipes apart.
"We are now finishing the well and laying the main pipe. It's a finishing touch, the
most important moment, the result
of our work."
"It's the time when you have to work with the utmost diligence when drilling a well.
Because, the way you secure the
well, the whole process predicts how much it will produce and how long it will last."
The well is more than 1300 meters deep. And the pipes have to travel these depths on the
secured under ground. And
its cracks could lead to a leak, which in turn could damage the whole structure. So
they are cleaned thoroughly before
being sunk into the well.
"There may be a crack in the pipe's joints when you let the gas in. So you have to make
sure the pipe is fully
prepared. They are cleaned with steam, produced from ice and snow. So that it's totally clean."
Most of these pipes will be used. There are large gas reserves in the Yamal region. And
only a fraction is being tapped.
"Well, I want to tell you that oil and gas discovered 1300 meters underground does not
lie in special reservoirs, there
is no special layer. It's in the earth, in sand or sand stone, impregnated with the product."
The Yamal region is Gazprom country. In this remote region, the Russian gas monopoly has
built a completely new
city, called Novozapolyarniy. The city has a population of a 3000 and this number is
set to increase as house building
continues.
All of the houses are built on pillars -- because the frozen ground turns to swampland in the
summer. And all of the
concrete components are made in the South as otherwise they would freeze once being
cast.
Still, what some may see as harsh climate is comfortable for others.
There is nothing quite like a snow bath after a session in a Russian sauna, a banya.
"That's how Russian men live."
In the staff canteen food is cheap and plentiful. And on the menu some dishes are high in calories,
because in the
freezing cold we burn more fat. Chef Sergey Mosolov has adapted some of the recipes from
the Nenets cuisine.
"My favourite dish? That's local fish, Muxun or Nelma, marinated with garlic and onions,
then you fry the filet without
skin and bones, after marinating it for half an hour."
People in Novozapolyarny do shift work for a month even two. So their living quarters
have all of the necessary
immunities. Gazprom ensures that its shops is always full of fresh produce. The only
thing that is notably absent is
alcohol, as drinking is not tolerated in the town. A worker here can easily earn five times
more than at home.
"If the pay was not enough, they just wouldn't go to the Far North with such enthusiasm.
But people are literally
queuing for jobs here. That means, there is a tough selection procedure. Not everyone
manages to get a job here."
About a third of the workforce is made up of women.
Most of Novozapolyarniy's inhabitants are grateful to have escaped the dreariness of
the Russian heartland. It may be
cold here, but at least you can take decent aerobics lessons.
"You know, we are here for one or two months at a time. I simply can't imagine those two
months without sport. In
my opinion, you must do sport. Moreover, we now have the opportunity to exercise with
trainers from Yamburg. For
women this is a gift, which we must be grateful for."
Everything from the gym, the food and even the people have to be transported over thousands
of kilometres up to the
Far North. This may seem like a luxury. Still, for Gazprom, it seems to pay. The immense
riches which lie under the
frozen ground in Yamal secure enough profit to cover the costs and much more.
This new monument in the Polar circle is glittering in the arctic sun. This is Salekhard, the
capital of the Yamal
Autonomous region. Money made from the gas industry has turned a provincial backwater
into a thoroughly modern
town.
Geologists have found out that the whole of the Yamal region is literally swimming in
gas. For Gazprom, the Russian
gas monopoly, tapping into those reservoirs has meant a huge investment. Before the first
cubic metre of gas could
flow from Novozapolyarniy, this huge complex had to be built, hundreds of kilometres north
of the Polar Circle.
Oleg Khasanov is the head engineer at the plant.
"Behind me back is the equipment for aerial cooling of gas. The gas is cooled down to
zero or minus two degrees. It
is pumped through the long distance pipelines and then to the consumers at this temperature.
It could go to London or
Berlin."
At this plant alone, 160 wells deliver gas -- that's about a third of the Novozapolyarniy
gas reserve capacity. Here, the
gas is cleansed -- the process that requires little human intervention.
"When the gas enters this section, it goes into so called separator. Here minerals and
water is separated from the gas.
The next link in the technological chain is the absorber, where liquid dehydrator draws
all the liquid from the gas. Once
the gas is gone through a measuring instrument registering its quantity, it then goes to
a long distance pipeline and on
to the consumers."
Khasanov's plant is a second such complex. All in all, Gazprom wants to invest up to
7 billion dollars here. This
reserve will provide a stable output of gas to Gazprom's customers for the foreseeable
future. For the company, it is
of immense importance.
Gazprom is fervently building pipelines throughout the tundra to transport gas to its customers.
Today it is cold with
the temperature of minus 25, but Sergey Raykyevich decides to take a look.
There are however some restrictions. The lichen, which covers the ground, a staple food for
reindeer, takes decades
to grow back.
"We only allowed to work with caterpillars in winter. In summer crawler-type vehicles
are forbidden. We try not to
destroy the pastures."
The work itself is a technological feat. The pipes have to be kept at a constant temperature
before being assembled. In
winter, temperatures fall below minus 50 and the material start to behave differently.
Still, the men have a lot of
experience in working in such freezing conditions. They plan to improve on the already impressive
figures.
"Our minimal output is 30 lengths of pipe, that means 230 to 400 meters a day in winter
conditions. In the future we
want to produce two kilometres or more."
This may be good news for Europe. But for some, it is a setback. For the Nenets more
pipelines mean less
space, but space is important for them and their herds of reindeer. This brigade covers
thousands of kilometres every
year -- From the northernmost point of the Yamal peninsula to the mainland. Their leader
can tell from experience what
it means for reindeer nomads to have a gas company as neighbour.
"Especially in the North where we live, they leave scrap metal behind. The whole of Yamal is full of discarded metal.
They've dug up everything, in some areas you can no longer find berries. On the sites where
they are drilling, they
simply leave their scrap metal."
About 35 000 Nenets live on the Arctic Ocean coastline. They've adapted their lifestyle
to the harsh conditions in the
Far North. The Nenets travel around on sledges they've made themselves. Their lives have
not changed much over the
centuries. Three families and their 4000 reindeer make up this brigade.
This chum, a Nenets tent, is home to the families of the Puyko brothers, Dmitry and Vladislav.
In total there are seven
people.
Today dinner is raw frozen fish, one of the Nenets' favourite dishes. Thin slices of fish
are eaten with a salty sauce.
For the reindeer herdsmen, gas exploration is endangering their way of life. Though Gazprom
is paying compensation
into the regional budget, the drilling changes the fragile ecology of the tundra on which
the Nenets depend.
"Everywhere in the world there is Greenpeace. Why don't we have something like that? That's
the protection of the
environment, isn't it? Take the Barnenko region. They simply left drilling equipment there,
all their waste. And the
metal damages the reindeer's hooves. There is a river, where the fish used to be plentiful.
Now they are small, and,
they catch is a much less than compared to the previous year."
Back in Novozapolyarniy, the drilling master Flarid Shakirov has moved his drilling tower
40 meters. His crew is
digging a well in the gas reserve below. It takes 15 days to sink each one. It is biting
cold, but Shakirov is jolly
nevertheless.
"The weather is fine. It's our weather. Minus 30, frost and wind, that's our polar weather."
The 50 men in Shakirov's crew make up a close team. They are renowned for their safety standards.
Drilling is hard
work. The drill bit has to be changed regularly. And the whole drill has to be removed to get
at the bit itself. And the
biggest risk when the drilling is so-called eruption. Gas is contained underground at
extremely high pressure. One false
move, and the drilling equipment will be thrown with great force out of the well. Still, it
is all part of the routine for the
crew.
"While we are drilling and penetrating the gas layer, any hazardous work is totally forbidden.
Every five minutes
chemical analysts have to measure the solution coming from the well, check the quantity and
also look after the
equipment -- cover everything to stop an eruption."
The last hole, which Shakirov's crew was drilling just a few days ago, is almost ready. On the
whole, crew staying in
one place for two or three months, then move on. In the whole Zapolyarnoe reserve, there
are around 400 such wells.
On average, they produce a million cubic metres of gas a day.
A tap-like structure is all that is evident and hundreds of meters pipes lay deep in the
reserve. For Shakirov, the only thing left to do is
to make sure that everything is working. He leaves the rest to the others.
The drilling process is completed when the well is linked to the pipeline circuit. At
the moment we are measuring those
wells already drilled for the dynamics of the gas. For us, this well is finished, all
of the parameters are totally normal.
The so-called torch indicates that a new well has been tapped. The gas itself is left to
burn for a whole day. Then, the flame in Yamal is extinguished,
to bring light and warmth to Europe.