At the core of Russia’s hydrocarbons-related power is its Arctic oil and gas reserves , with the Russian Arctic sector comprising over 35,700 billion cubic metres of natural gas and over 2,300 million metric tons of oil and condensate, the majority of which are located in the Yamal and Gydan peninsulas, lying on the south side of the Kara Sea. According to recent comments from Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin, the next 10-15 years will witness a dramatic expansion in the extraction of these Arctic resources, and a corollary build-out of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) – the coastal route of which crosses the Kara Sea – as the primary transport route to monetise these resources in the global oil and gas markets, especially to China. Last week it was revealed that a massive new gas field in the Kara Sea itself has been discovered by Russian oil giant, Rosneft. […]