Port Sabetta - development of the Yamal Peninsula region

The development of economic ties with the countries of the world, as well as the political situation, led to the emergence of a project to build such an important facility as the port of Sabetta. It was named after the settlement of the same name on the Yamal peninsula. The construction of the port of Sabetta is conditioned, first of all, by the fact that about 20% of all oil and gas fields in Russia are concentrated in this region.

Construction project and objectives

As already mentioned above, the construction of a new port in the Arctic region of the country is already a necessity. This is not a separately constructed structure, but a whole complex called Yamal-LNG. In the future, the port of Sabetta is designed to provide navigation throughout the year along the Northern Sea Route. A natural gas liquefaction plant will be built nearby to transport it in special tankers for export to Western Europe, South and North America, and the states of the Pacific.

In order for the Arctic port of Sabetta to function fully, a working village was built near it. It is also planned to build a branch of the railway and airfield.

Work to be performed during the project implementation

In general, the sea port of Sabetta will be unique in terms of the construction of such structures. All work is done from scratch. At the time of the port's laying on the terrain, there was no infrastructure, cargo with materials needed to be delivered by sea. This applies primarily to heavy and large-sized elements of the port design. The terms of navigation at that time were only 3-4 months.

The construction of the port of Sabetta includes the following works:

• Construction of an access canal;
• Construction of the sea channel;
• Port water area;
• Mooring wall;
• 4 berths;
• Control-correcting station;
• Hydrometeorological post;
• Warehouses;
• Technical and administrative buildings.

The work on equipping the access channel has been completed. At the moment, work is under way on the development of the port water area, construction of infrastructure continues.

Investors and contractors

The port construction project was developed by the order of the Russian government by the project office of JSC LENMORNIIPROEKT. Based on the results of the tender, the UST Most became the general contractor for port facilities, OAO MRTS, the general contractor for the port construction, became the general contractor.

The construction of the port of Sabetta is expensive. Investors were OJSC Novatek (Russia) and oil and gas company TOTAL (France). Yamal-LNG acts as a customer. Design and survey work was carried out by GT Morstroy.

After the identification of all the actors, the project had to be re-optimized. As a result, it became possible to reduce the amount of materials by using them more optimally.

Completed stages

The port's bookmark occurred in 2012 (it should be completely completed in 2017). In 2013 the quay wall is completed. More than 10% of the technological dam, leading to the berths. Partly ready for berths, and in October 2013 the port of Sabetta gave the opportunity to moor the first ship. A working settlement was built. However, it is not known whether contractors will be able to meet deadlines.

Financial difficulties on the way of construction and not only

The main funding for construction and maintenance comes from the federal budget of the country. As it turned out two years after the bookmark, the optimization of the project did not work. Apparently, the contractors will have to return to the original project. It provides ice protection facilities. This raises the cost by more than 40%.

However, it is not possible to conserve the project. First of all, the delay in terms will entail fines on a very large scale. Well, the most important reason is that it can undermine the prestige and reputation of the Russian Federation as a reliable and stable supplier. Contracts have already been signed for a large volume of gas for transportation, and failure to meet construction deadlines will entail financial sanctions for unfulfilled international obligations.

To raise funds, it is planned to reduce investments in other projects, such as the construction of a ferry for the Ust-Luga-Baltiysk line, the reconstruction of the port of St. Petersburg and the construction of a deep-water port in Baltiysk. While the decision is not made, the search for funds continues.

Prospects and implications

The port of Sabetta under the project will be used not only for the export of liquefied natural gas. Through it, the world market will leave grain, metal, coal. This will change the economy of the region and give impetus to its further development. Speaking about the political significance, the port of Sabetta will allow not to depend on many countries through which cargo was transported earlier. If it is possible to realize the construction of the railway, the life of the region will change significantly.