Arctic and Far East offshore oil and gas fields will become the world’s main areas for production of hydrocarbon resources, Russian experts say.

- Between 2030 and 2050 the world centers for oil and gas development will be moving to the offshore deposits of Arctic and Far East seas, said Professor Vladimir Kontorovich, Correspondent Member of the Russian Academy of Science, at a conference in Arkhangelsk last week.

The Council of the Russian Academy of Science had gathered in Arkhangelsk to discuss the research activity in the Arctic.

The peak of world oil extraction will be reached between 2020 and 2030 and in the end of the century it can drop to the levels of early 1970’s - approximately 2,1-2,4 billion of oil per year, Professor Kontorovich said. The Arctic seas possess from 90 to 250 billion tons of oil equivalent, he added.

Another participant at the meeting Academician Dobretsov said on the conference that the western technologies will undoubtedly dominate on the first stage of Russian offshore oil and gas development especially in the Shtokman field. But in the future Russia should replace the foreign technologies with national competence in the fields of the Pechora and Kara seas.

The academicians stressed special importance of establishing of the Federal (Arctic) University in Arkhangelsk as a leading institution in Arctic research development in the future.