Supply chain control and strategies to reduce operational risk in Russian extractive industries along the Northern Sea Route

Russian resource developers operating in the remote parts of the Arctic have demonstrated during the past several years that it is feasible to extract natural resources throughout the year, and ship large quantities of raw materials with regular intervals from the Arctic to international markets. Th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Arctic Review on Law and Politics
Main Authors: Gunnarson, Björn, Lasserre, Frédéric
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Gyldendal Akademisk 2023
Subjects:
NSR
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11794/126983
https://doi.org/10.23865/arctic.v14.4052
Description
Summary:Russian resource developers operating in the remote parts of the Arctic have demonstrated during the past several years that it is feasible to extract natural resources throughout the year, and ship large quantities of raw materials with regular intervals from the Arctic to international markets. This is despite very difficult operational conditions in the Arctic during both winter and spring. Several resource extraction projects are being implemented or planned. This study examines how the extractive companies have build-up enhanced supply chain resilience and transport reliability to mitigate common Arctic risks. The companies have taking control over their supply chains and adopted several precautionary and innovative infrastructure and logistics measures designed to prevent or mitigate disruption to their supply chains. Preferred logistical solutions for all extraction projects developed into large package deals, where long-term production and transport arrangements of commodities, icebreaking services, and state support were all included. Western sanctions on Russia as the result of the war in Ukraine, will slow down the pace of future Russian projects in the Arctic, at least in the short to medium-term. But the sanctions are likely to increase the future significance of export terminals on the NSR, as the preferred departure points for Russian Arctic commodities on their way to selective market destinations.