Mapping the main risks for offshore operations in the Pechora Sea

Abstract

The development of Prirazlomnoye oil field in the Pechora Sea was the first Russian oil and gas project in the Arctic. The environmental conditions are primarily function of water dynamics and ice cover for greatest part of the year. The marine environment in the Pechora Sea is characterized with many species including birds, fishes, benthic fauna and marine mammals. The food chains in the Arctic ecosystem are simple and very vulnerable to contamination. If pollutants harm one species, the whole food chain will be affected and can result in reducing a population of the specific species. In this paper, conceptual approach for environmental risk mapping is presented. The main pollution sources in the Pechora Sea were identified associated with possible risk and presented in the risk matrix. Qualitative analysis of possible risk events for water, air and soil pollution were analyzed and represented in appropriate bow-tie charts. Dangerous points in the Pechora Sea are mapped and their risk distribution are presented.