Strategic Priorities for Unmanned Technologies in Energy Projects in the Russian Arctic

Energy projects in the Russian Arctic requires advanced, effective, and save technologies capable of working in harsh climatic conditions. Unmanned vehicles are a key trend in the contemporary oil and gas industry. They perform complex technological operations without direct human involvement. Unmanned vehicles deliver cargo to remote fields, monitor environment, do seismic exploration, provide photo and video surveillance, etc. The key advantage of unmanned vehicles is their uninterrupted round-the-clock operation, regardless of external circumstances. Drones make it possible to reduce the time of cargo delivery and ensure the stability of transportation in all weather conditions. Unmanned technologies increase the efficiency of logistics because they are reliable means of delivering equipment and materials to distant oil and gas fields. Submersible, land, and aerial drones of Russian production are used in the Arctic oil and gas fields. The achieved results create prerequisites for long-term development in this area. As the technical capabilities expand, the range of tasks increases to include magnetic exploration, mapping land plots, laser scanning for digital terrain models, etc. Russian oil and gas companies in the Arctic are likely to benefit from unmanned technologies in the long term.