Sabetta climate conditions. How life is in the closed rotational camp of Sabetta in the far north. Work on Yamal LNG on a rotational basis
Lots of photos
By 2030, according to experts, Russia's share in the global LNG market could increase to 15 percent. Liquefied gas that has not yet been produced has already been sold 20 years in advance. And today, despite the sanctions, the Yamal LNG project is not slowing down.
In April, a tour of the construction site was given to the leadership of Yamal municipalities. The heads of cities and districts were invited to see for themselves the scale and prospects of the strategic idea.
The scale of this construction is best seen from the air. Just a couple of years ago there was nothing here except old barracks. And now the village even has its own airport. It opened only in February, but has already received 18 thousand passengers.
Since February of this year, Yamal LNG has been organizing constant passenger flights with the cities of Novy Urengoy and Moscow with the subsequent expansion of the route network. The airport is primarily intended to serve rotational personnel; this year the planned number of passenger traffic will be about 150 thousand people, and in the peak years of the project will exceed 300 thousand people.
The commissioning of a modern international airport, built as part of the large-scale Yamal LNG project, is an important event not only for the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, but also for the whole of Russia. Considering the active development of the Arctic, Sabetta Airport can be widely used in servicing the transportation of passengers and cargo in this remote region, including international ones.
Sabetta International Airport is one of the first Russian Arctic airports built from scratch. The airport corresponds to the first category of ICAO and can accommodate almost all types of aircraft. Sabetta International Airport LLC has a certificate of conformity for the airfield, a certificate of state registration of the airfield, and is certified for all types of airport activities.
All heads of Yamal municipalities gathered in Sabetta for the first time. The tour begins from the territory of the future plant, where there is still a pile field.
Giant reservoirs have already grown nearby, from which liquid gas will be pumped into gas tankers. The guaranteed reserves of the South Tambey field, the gas from which will be processed, are 1.2 trillion cubic meters of blue fuel. The Yamal LNG plant will produce 16.5 million tons of liquefied gas per year. At the same time, a resource base has been prepared that makes it possible today to create a capacity of up to 70 million tons of LNG in the area of the Sabetta port under construction.
About 9 thousand people already work in Sabetta. At the peak of construction there will be 15 thousand of them, and a new one is quickly being built on the site of the old village. The construction has already provided work to many Yamal residents. But the main thing, of course, is ahead.
“Currently, construction is actively underway. 9 thousand people work at the site. In February alone, 65 vessels were received. The project is already at a high level of implementation, probably 30 percent of the main work has been completed, all horizontal work has been completed, piles have been driven, large RVS for liquefied natural gas are being installed,” Dmitry Kobylkin said at a working meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in March of this year.
Investment projects being implemented in Yamal, such as Yamal LNG, the Sabetta port, the Bovanenkovskoye field, the Northern Latitudinal Railway and others, are a driver of growth for the Russian economy, so the pace of their implementation should not slow down. This was stated by the Governor of the Tyumen Region Vladimir Yakushev at the IV International Conference “Yamal Neftegaz-2015”, held on the 20th of May in Salekhard.
“The Tyumen region is actively involved in the implementation of investment projects in the district, but the regional government is directing efforts to expand cooperation, in this matter we find understanding both from the leadership of the district and from representatives of the oil and gas industry,” noted Vladimir Yakushev.
“Yamal is not only a Russian, but also a global storehouse. In the next 50-60 years, at least this region will be the main point of growth for our country. The infrastructure here is already quite developed, the region is rich in natural resources. The Polar Urals, the Arctic shelf, many oil and gas fields, their confirmed reserves - this suggests that Yamal will remain the main driver of growth in the Russian economy in the near future,” said the head of the region.
According to him, the development of Yamal will also have a beneficial effect for the Tyumen region. In the region, research institutes, design institutes, oil service companies, and machine-building enterprises focused on oil and gas production in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug and Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug traditionally develop and work for the greater Tyumen region.
“For the long term, approximately 50-60 years, Russia does not have another project as powerful as Yamal. Today, its development provides jobs for specialists and orders for enterprises throughout the country,” he noted, comparing the importance for the state of the development of the peninsula with the great era of the formation of the fuel and energy complex of Western Siberia.
The head of the region emphasized the big role of oil and gas companies in the development of the social sphere, healthcare, and education. “These investments pay off handsomely, because we invest in people, we invest in the future, this is our common cause,” summed up Vladimir Yakushev.
Not only liquefied natural gas, but also other cargo should be transported through the port of Sabetta along the Northern Sea Route. This was stated on May 27 by the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Ural Federal District, Igor Kholmanskikh, at a press conference in Yekaterinburg.
“For the construction of a plant for the production of liquefied natural gas as part of the Yamal LNG project, the main and auxiliary sites are 90 percent prepared. Installation of foundations for gas turbine units is underway. Tanks for storing liquefied natural gas are in varying degrees of readiness. Only domestic contractors take part in the implementation of the Yamal LNG project; all work is performed by Russian workers and specialists,” emphasized the plenipotentiary representative of the President of the Russian Federation.
About 14 thousand people will be employed during the construction of the plant, and after its completion in 2018, 1 thousand 400 jobs will be created at the enterprise, Igor Kholmanskikh said.
Northern route
Sabetta received more than 1.1 million tons of cargo in 2014, demonstrating almost threefold growth. Thus, the Yamal port under construction now provides almost a third of all traffic along the Northern Sea Route. This year, Sabetta is expected to unload three million tons of cargo ashore, of which two million will be delivered along the Northern Sea Route. These are modular structures for a future liquefied natural gas plant, elements of LNG storage tanks, drilling and other equipment. And already in 2017, shipment of the first batches of products will begin. From 2020, it is planned to annually poison 16.5 million tons of liquefied gas and 1.2 million tons of condensate from Sabetta.
Right on time
Leonid Mikhelson, head of NOVATEK, assures that the Yamal LNG project will be implemented on time. The first stage of the plant, designed to liquefy 5.5 million tons of natural gas from the South Tambey field, is promised to be launched in 2017. There are plans to build three lines in total. The project cost exceeds $27 billion. Currently, however, technical difficulties have arisen regarding the currency in which funds are raised from Chinese banks. However, all problems must be resolved by the end of the first half of the year.
Will China help?
The Yamal LNG project may receive financing from Chinese banks. Up to $13.5 billion can be transferred by the end of 2015. As Bloomberg reports, citing Patrick de la Chevardieu, the financial director of the French oil and gas company Total, Chinese banks have signed a preliminary agreement on lending to Yamal LNG. Chevardier also announced the continuation of negotiations with export credit agencies to obtain additional financing.
At the same time, the management of Yamal LNG was forced to begin negotiations with foreign shipping companies. Sovcomflot, which previously won the tender, was unable to conclude an agreement with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering for the construction of five icebreaker-type gas carriers. Although, according to the terms of the contract, I was obliged to do this last year. Therefore, Yamal LNG itself entered into a corresponding agreement with the Korean shipyard and is now looking for buyers for the ships.
Around the world
Yamal LNG expects to receive up to $13.5 billion from Chinese banks. Previously, the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation bought the company's bonds for 74.9 billion rubles. This is only half the amount approved by the government of Dmitry Medvedev. In addition, an agreement was signed with the Belgian Fluxys LNG, which undertakes to build a liquefied gas storage tank with a set of associated equipment in Zeebrugge. In turn, Yamal LNG will receive the right to exclusive use of these facilities. The cost of this agreement exceeds a billion euros, which the Russians undertake to pay to their partner within 20 years from the date of commencement of gas transshipment. The adopted supply scheme along the Northern Sea Route provides that in the summer hydrocarbons will be exported by reinforced ice-class tankers directly to the markets of the Asia-Pacific region, and in the winter they will be transshipped in Zeebrugge onto conventional tankers for subsequent transportation through the Suez Canal.
On the world stage
Evgeny Kot, General Director of Yamal LNG, noted the increasing role of liquefied natural gas in the global energy balance. Due to the shift in demand to new markets, primarily the Asia-Pacific region, traditional pipeline supplies are often simply technically impossible.
The development of LNG projects is the future of Russian gas on the world stage, the speaker is convinced. - Our company is implementing a pilot project in Yamal, designed to produce 16.5 million tons of liquefied gas per year. At the same time, a resource base has been prepared that makes it possible today to create a capacity of up to 70 million tons of LNG in the area of the Sabetta port under construction. Our efforts should be aimed at achieving precisely these global goals. And here coordination between the government and subsoil users is extremely important. The following projects will use the experience we have already gained, tested technologies and equipment, with the maximum possible localization of production in Russia.
Didier Barbandiere, vice president of Technip, assures that international sanctions will in no way affect the success of the Russian-French-Chinese project. The Yamal plant will ship the first batch of gas from Sabetta via the Northern Sea Route in 2017. The French have a lot of experience in this matter. It was Technip, using its own technology, that back in the 1960s built the very first LNG plant on the planet - in Africa.
Sabetta is awesome!
The Arctic Yamal LNG project, which the Russian NOVATEK is implementing jointly with French and Chinese partners, continues to actively develop. If in the past year 27 ships with cargo arrived from abroad at the still-under-development port of Sabetta, then next year it is planned to let 100-150 ships through customs, which will deliver more than three million tons of imported cargo to the construction site. The creation of a full-fledged seaport is planned to be completed by 2016.
And already in 2017, despite all international sanctions, they promise to send the first gas carrier with liquefied natural gas from the South Tambey field for export from Sabetta. Dmitry Kobylkin, Governor of Yamal, is convinced that after the completion of the construction of a multifunctional sea port and a railway to Sabetta on Yamal, many Russian regions will gain access to the world's oceans through the Northern Sea Route. This project will open up new opportunities for further development of Arctic territories.
ABOUT SABETTA
Sabetta is a rotational camp located on the eastern shore of the Yamal Peninsula (Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug) near the Ob Bay of the Kara Sea, a stronghold of the Yamal LNG project.
The name of the village is derived from the name of the Sabetta-yakha river - translated from Nenets as “river in a cap”. However, there are several more versions of the origin of the name: from the name of the Soviet trading post that existed here, converted into Nenets, to the name of the Sabe clan - Samoyeds (Nenets) who lived in this area.
During Soviet times, the village was a base for geologists. Members of the Tambay expedition landed in Sabetta in the early 1980s. At that time, the village had only a few wooden buildings, typical of ordinary northern villages of the late 20th century. There were a lot of them back then. Several dozen geologists were engaged in exploration, drilling wells, and conducting research.
There are no weekends or holidays in Sabetta; every day is a working day. But, as elsewhere, on New Year’s Day a large festive tree is traditionally erected here on the main square, and on the first Sunday of September a concert is held in honor of the professional holiday of oil and gas workers. In September 2016, an Orthodox church appeared in the village, which was personally consecrated by Patriarch Kirill.
During the implementation of the Yamal LNG project, all the necessary infrastructure for the construction workers’ accommodation was created in the village, auxiliary facilities of the life support complex were erected: a boiler room, four canteens, a cafe, a hospital, baths, a large sports complex, an administrative and amenity complex, a hotel, shops, sewerage and water treatment facilities, food storage warehouses.
SABETTA
AIRPORT
It was the first time in Russian practice that an international airport was built at such a latitude. When designing the runway and the airport building complex, the difficult natural and climatic conditions in the Sabetta area were taken into account: permafrost, swamps, lakes, rivers. In such climatic conditions, prestressed airfield slabs were used as the runway surface.
December 4, 2014 The first technical flight took place, as a result of which the airport received a certificate of airfield fitness and a certificate of state registration.
In January 2015, Sabetta Airport received certificates of conformity in the following areas: aviation security, airfield flight support, navigation support, passenger and baggage services for domestic air transportation.
February 2, 2015 Sabetta Airport received its first passenger flight. Regular communication has been organized with five cities of Russia.
In 2016, Sabetta Airport began accepting international flights.
On May 26, 2017, the international airport of the Yamal LNG project received a “geographical passport”.
The airport complex includes an ICAO category I airfield, a 2704 m x 46 m runway, hangars for aircraft, a service and passenger building, including an international sector. The airport can accommodate aircraft of various types IL-76, A-320, Boeing-737-300, 600, 700, 800, Boeing-767-200, as well as MI-26, MI-8 helicopters. The airport operator is a 100% subsidiary of Yamal LNG OJSC – Sabetta International Airport LLC.
During the operation of the airport, more than 490 thousand passengers and almost 6 thousand tons of urgent cargo were transported.
On July 20, 2012, the ceremonial laying of the seaport took place, located 5 km northeast of the village. INIn October 2013, the first cargo ships moored at the port pier. On July 25, 2014, the seaport of Sabetta was included in the register of seaports of the Russian Federation.
In March, the ice along the Northern Sea Route reaches its maximum thickness. Nuclear and diesel icebreakers help deliver cargo to Sabetta over heavy ice. Thanks to the Yamal LNG project, cargo traffic along the Northern Sea Route has doubled. Since the beginning of active construction of the project (since 2012), delivery of construction materials and equipment has been carried out on a year-round basis; icebreaker support is used in winter.
The Sabetta seaport is a key growth point in the development of the Northern Sea Route. In total, more than 13 million tons of cargo have been delivered to the port since 2012.
SEA PORT
In June 2014, construction began on the first two (of four) LNG storage tanks. In permafrost conditions, each tank is built on a foundation of 948 piles 24 meters deep, with a thermal stabilizer installed next to each of them. The concrete walls of the tanks, more than 50 meters high, were erected in a short time, in just 21 days.
The diameter of one tank is 80 meters, designed to store 160 thousand cubic meters. m of gas at a temperature of -163 degrees. For comparison, the tank can fit two Airbus 380 aircraft stacked on top of each other.
All four reservoirs have now been built and hydrotested. The main platforms of pumping equipment are installed on the first two tanks.
RESERVOIRS
LNG PLANT
An LNG plant with a capacity of about 16.5 million tons of LNG is being built directly at the South Tambeyskoye field on the shore of the Ob Bay.
The construction uses a modular installation principle, which significantly reduces construction costs in Arctic conditions and optimizes the project implementation schedule. The production complex will include three gas liquefaction lines with a capacity of 5.5 million tons per year each. The first stage is planned to be launched in 2017.
In conditions of low average annual temperatures in the Arctic, less specific energy is required for gas liquefaction, which allows achieving higher volumes of LNG production compared to projects located in southern latitudes and using similar equipment.
After the plant is launched, the hydrocarbon mixture from the wells will be supplied through gas collection networks to a single integrated complex for the preparation and liquefaction of natural gas.
At the entrance facilities of the complex, separation will take place - separation of mechanical impurities, water, methanol and condensate from the gas. The inlet structures include methanol regeneration and condensate stabilization units.
The separated gas will be supplied to liquefaction lines and subsequently undergo purification from acid gases and traces of methanol, drying and removal of mercury, extraction of ethane, propane and heavier hydrocarbon fractions. Next, the purified gas will be supplied for pre-cooling and liquefaction. LNG will be supplied for storage in special closed-type isothermal tanks.
The integrated complex will also include liquefied petroleum gas fractionation plants, stable condensate and refrigerant storage parks, a 376 MW power plant, plant utilities and flare systems.
DRILLING
At the beginning of 2013, drilling of production wells began at the South Tambeyskoye field. Production drilling is carried out using advanced technologies. The field development project involves drilling more than 200 directional production wells with horizontal completion from 19 well pads.
ARCTIC drilling rigs were developed and manufactured especially for the project. The units are designed to operate in the difficult natural and climatic conditions of Yamal; they are fully protected from winds and low temperatures, which ensures comfortable working conditions for personnel and continuous drilling throughout the year.
The resource base for the implementation of the Yamal LNG Project is the South Tambeyskoye field, discovered in 1974 and located in the northeast of the Yamal Peninsula. The license for the development of the South Tambeyskoye field is valid until December 31, 2045 and belongs to Yamal LNG OJSC.
Proven and probable reserves of the Yuzhno-Tambeyskoye field according to PRMS standards as of December 31, 2014 amount to 926 billion cubic meters. m of gas. The potential level of gas production to meet the needs of the LNG plant exceeds 27 billion cubic meters. m per year.
TANKER ARC7
On August 26, 2016, sea trials of the Arc7 LNG tanker began in the waters between the coast of South Korea and Tsushima Island. For the first time, all ship equipment was tested under real operating conditions. The vessel's performance has been fully confirmed.
The first tanker is named Christophe de Margerie. The Arc7 tanker is a high-tech LNG carrier of the highest ice class, specially designed to meet the needs of the Yamal LNG project. The design of a gas carrier, a three-fuel diesel-electric power plant, a propulsion complex consisting of three Azipod-type rudder propellers, design features of the hull and mechanisms in an arctic design (ice class Arc7 according to the RMRS classification and a set of equipment for operating in conditions of low temperatures down to –52 °C ) - all this gives the vessel serious competitive advantages and makes it unique.
"Christophe de Margerie" was built in the shortest possible time by the DSME shipyard (South Korea), which is one of the leaders in the field of world shipbuilding. Leading Russian and foreign research organizations participated in the development and implementation of the project.
At the end of March 2017 Ice class tanker Arc7 arrived at the port of Sabetta. The mooring ceremony was observed in a straight line from Arkhangelsk by Russian President Vladimir Putin. “If we act in the same vein and at the same pace, which is even, frankly speaking, somewhat surprising for me, then, of course, Russia, without any doubt, not only can become, but will become the largest producer of liquefied natural gas in the world . We have every reason to think so, to think so and to achieve this result.”
Vladimir Putin also thanked the foreign partners of the Yamal LNG project. “They believe in this project, actively participate in it, support both technologically and financially. This is very important if we keep in mind that the weather is not the best on global energy markets, but we assume that the need for energy resources will increase. We are working for the future,” the head of state emphasized.
The President noted that the ship that arrived at the port today was named in honor of the deceased “our great friend, the former head of Total, Christophe de Margerie”: “This is very symbolic, it will strengthen our relations even at such a spiritual level.” Christophe de Margerie has led Total since 2007. In October 2014, he died in a plane crash in Vnukovo.
Working in the Far North is not an easy task. You have to work in difficult climatic conditions: extreme temperatures, constant winds, and mountains of snow. All this is familiar to residents of the village of Sabetta, who are working on the construction of the Yamal LNG plant. We have shown large-scale construction more than once, but how is the life and leisure time of workers organized?
One of the work shifts has come to an end, and those who worked are rushing to the hostel as quickly as possible. It’s still frosty here, in the evening it’s down to minus twenty outside, and there’s a lot of snow. In this white desert, the orange and blue village looks like a bright spot. And here is the store, also decorated in these colors. It's crowded here in the evening. However, there are always enough visitors.
Although it is crowded here, the range of goods is pleasing to the eye. Products are delivered to the village in large quantities by water, and delivered to the store every other day. Treats and drinking water are what are most in demand among local customers.
“There are not enough sweets here. I've been here for a very long time - about 4 months, and I can say that it tastes delicious. Prices, of course, differ from those on the ground, but in terms of assortment, everything is excellent,” says Denis Kharchenko.
Seller Yulia has been working here on a rotational basis for two years. I came to Sabetta from Omsk. They work with their partners with virtually no rest. But they love their work. They recognize almost everyone by sight and remember the gastronomic preferences of their customers.
“Everyone wants something tasty, imagine - constantly eating in the canteen, you don’t want to. Some people cook it themselves. They buy a lot of chickens, and now we sell vegetables. They take a lot of vegetables - they constantly ask, and we order. The men take multicookers with them and cook,” shares seller Yulia Parakhuda.
Home-work, work-home. Life in a workers' settlement is not very diverse. But for hard workers, they tried to make everything as comfortable as possible. Comfortable dormitories, spacious dining rooms, and for leisure - a large gym. Those who still have energy left after work can go to the gym or kick a ball. Living conditions for people here are decent.
A village of 15 thousand inhabitants in the middle of a snowy desert is another proof that people in our country not only think big, but also do big things. Construction of the century - this is how the Yamal LNG plant can now be called. Well, all these people are just grains of sand in a large-scale project. It is impossible to build the Arctic, but it is possible to create it - with its permission.
The seaport of Sabetta on the map is a completely new geographical name that appeared about a few years ago, when the need arose to develop huge oil and gas fields on the Yamal Peninsula and deliver cargo to the port of Sabetta, as well as to transport hydrocarbons via the Northern Sea Route. The port is named after the workers' village, five kilometers north of which it is located. The port of Sabetta on the map is located in the eastern part of Yamal, on the shore of the 800-kilometer Ob Bay, which opens into the Arctic Kara Sea.
The official ceremony to begin construction of the Sabetta seaport took place on July 20, 2012, as part of the Yamal LNG project.
As a priority, the builders of the port of Sabetta had to build sea berths capable of receiving any cargo - from construction materials to equipment. For this purpose, dredging work was carried out and the approach and sea channels were dug, the port water area over 15 meters deep. This task was completely solved, and already in October 2013, the port of Sabetta opened winter navigation and received the first cargo ships.
Now the capacity of the port of Sabetta allows it to accept cargo all year round. Currently, the construction of the second stage is being completed - terminals for the shipment of liquefied natural gas, which is delivered from the South Tambey gas condensate field.
In the future, it is planned to supply oil, natural gas and gas condensate from the port of Sabetta not only to the countries of Western Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, but also to the countries of North and South America. The next stage of work will be the construction of a plant for processing liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Active mining is literally transforming the peninsula. Previously, in the workers' village there were only a few old dilapidated barracks, but now the port village of Sabetta in the photo is a European-style settlement.
It houses several dozen new dormitories designed to accommodate 17 thousand people. It has its own canteen, police station and medical center. A hotel, an administrative and amenity complex with gyms equipped with exercise equipment were built. In the photo of the port of Sabetta you can see that it has its own boiler house and energy center, fire protection station, warm parking for cars, storage facilities for fuels and lubricants, food and other necessary goods. The ecology of the village is ensured by sewerage and water treatment facilities.
Delivery of cargo to the port of Sabetta
Currently, the most popular and economical way to deliver cargo to the port of Sabetta is delivery by motor transport along winter roads - winter roads. In addition, in the port village of Sabetta there is an operating airport, which has been given international status. During the construction of the port of Sabetta, strict compliance with international environmental standards is envisaged, while efforts are made to minimize the impact on nature.
Against the backdrop of a very real general collapse of everything and everyone, something is still being done in the country. And in the most unexpected places (although, how can I say, maybe this is just what is expected).
In the Far North, practically on the shores of the Arctic Ocean (according to the independent Arctic), more precisely, on the western coast of the Ob Bay, almost at the outlet to the ocean, 650 km northwest of Novy Urengoy, in the tundra and permafrost, literally within a year a new, ultra-modern airfield was built with the beautiful foreign name Sabetta (after the name of the shift workers’ village).
Of course, it was not the state that built it, but the “private” company Novatek (the largest gas producer after Gazprom, and its competitor). Ultra-modern materials and technologies, in Western fashion, modular structures of airport terminal buildings and airport services in bright, cheerful colors (orange-blue), a web of openwork shiny nickel-plated steel structures through which pipes and cables are laid. It looks less like an airport and more like a chemical plant.
The order is also in the Western style. The discipline is the strictest. Appearing on the airfield without a reflective vest is a fine of 30 thousand, smoking in the wrong place is 30 thousand. There are video cameras all around, you can’t hide. Because of this, I haven’t yet dared to take a photo of the airport terminal. What if it’s not allowed either, and they’ll spot it? There’s no extra money I’ll take a closer look, get used to it, find out if it’s possible, and take a photo.
Moreover, Sabetta has been declared an “alcohol-free area.” And everything is done in an adult, real way. At the exit from the airport, your luggage is inspected at the checkpoint and all alcohol, if any, is confiscated. I didn’t ask if they would return it later on departure. One of our crews was slightly injured. The flight from N. Urengoy to Sabetta was supposed to take place on December 30 and then immediately to the base, home. We arrived in Sabetta on the afternoon of December 30, planning to quickly unload and go home. And the weather turned bad. In the North, the weather in winter is extremely unstable. It may be CAVOK (Ceiling & Visibility Ok) for days in a row (visibility more than 10 km, cloud cover above 1500, i.e. ideal weather, “good” in Russian meteorological terminology) with light winds. Or it could deteriorate for a week in a matter of minutes, or the wind could blow so hard (as often in Norilsk) that you can’t even think about flying. They ended up stuck in Sabetta for 4 days, until January 3rd. And this is just a tiny rotational camp; there aren’t even shops there, there isn’t even a normal connection, not to mention the Internet. Food is served according to a schedule in the canteen. Moreover, upon leaving, all alcohol was confiscated from them. So we met NG dry, in the middle of nowhere.
Employees proudly tell how the airfield was built. There is permafrost here, the soil is unstable - in winter it hardens like stone, in summer it melts and “floats”. It turns out that the entire area of the airfield - the runway, taxiways, apron, parking areas, and even the road to the rotational camp (several kilometers around the airfield) were made using the same technology. The ground is leveled, solid slabs of foam-type material 10-15 cm thick are laid on the ground. A sand cushion of 2-3 meters is poured onto them, then concrete slabs are laid. Of course, the description is very rough and approximate (on the airfield the concrete surface is perfectly flat, the seams and joints of the slabs cannot be felt at all, even to the touch, as if it were a solid pour). Unlike the airfield, the road is not made so perfectly. Duc-duc-duc at the seams and the road is in waves. The driver said that one of the important roads was forced to be redone.
The shift camp is not wretched little girders, as was previously shown in reports from the North. Here, too, everything is according to Western standards. You get the feeling that you are in the scenery of a film about some oil workers in Alaska or shift workers in Newfoundland. Even rows of brightly painted (in the signature orange and blue) three-story “barracks” - constructor buildings made from “trailers” - residential modules. Piles are driven into the permafrost, frames are mounted on them, and then cube modules are assembled. Like a children's construction set. There is amazing heat and sound insulation inside. No frost (sometimes it drops to -50) and wind (which is constant here) is not scary. Rooms for two. There is a shared kitchen on the floor. The room has a TV, running water, sewerage, central heating. Draconian fines for any violation. The standard fee is 30 thousand. For smoking in the wrong place (to be fair, the smoking room is allocated - an iron container without one wall on the street between houses). For a closed heating radiator tap. The entire village is entangled in pipes. The pipes are quite high above the ground, but you can’t walk under them - there’s a fine. There are cameras all around. It is necessary to cross them through staircases. To get from our “dormitory No...” (that’s what the houses are officially called) to the dining room (Food establishment No....), you need to go around and through 2 staircases, although in a straight line it’s less than 100 m. But everyone goes as expected. The dining room looks like a soldier's. Huge hall. The food is very cheap and tasty. All payments are made with special cards. But you can also do it in cash. Oddly enough, I saw a lot of women in work uniforms in the queue. Not cafeteria workers or cleaners, but real working class people. By the way, I didn’t see a single person in dirty or oily overalls or overalls. All workers are clean and neatly dressed. The Western standard has reached here too.
While driving to the village, the driver said something about the Americans. I became interested. It turned out that Americans are working here with all their might (some kind of Schluberger company, I quote it by ear). They are drilling for gas. Transferring modern technologies. What kind of sanctions are there... I was surprised - the airport is not yet fully open, but there is already a border post.
Despite the fact that the airfield is fully equipped with all the necessary radar and navigation aids, the most modern ones at that, it is not yet fully certified (the procedure is long and tedious. They even received the right to refuel only recently after lengthy tedious approvals and commissions). Therefore, the control tower at the airfield is called “Sabetta-information” (i.e., officially it does not have the right to control air traffic, give permission for takeoff or landing, it only “provides information services” - that is, it performs ordinary dispatch functions - reports weather at the airfield, informs about the approach and exit patterns after takeoff, reports pressure, “recommends” to take a certain altitude, but without issuing permits). An interesting nuance - on the final section, on the landing glide path, in response to the request “Ready for landing!” answers not as expected, “I am cleared to land,” but “The runway is clear!” The same thing on takeoff - “Ready for takeoff!” - “The lane is free!” Those. Guys, it’s entirely your responsibility - if you want, land, take off, but I have nothing to do with it. This is the procedure until the airfield is finally certified. Moreover, because of this, it is not yet even in the official collections of API (aeronautical information, the so-called Jeppesen, which collects data from all certified airfields in the world, including African unpaved airfields). We have to use semi-official schemes. Designed according to all the rules, but with large watermarks “Attention! Do not use in collections!” (i.e. not officially approved). But airport employees say that business is moving, and quite quickly (the money is very serious).
By the way, one more funny nuance. Barometric altitudes for maintaining the landing approach are set in Sabetta in meters, but according to QNH pressure (minimum pressure normalized to sea level), as is done all over the world, including original China. The funny thing is that Russia is the only country in the world (not counting Belarus, Ukraine and the post-Soviet Asian republics) that flies not according to QNH, but according to QFE pressure (altitude is measured from the runway level). Legacy of the USSR. The difference is that QNH is a more convenient and accurate way to maintain safe flight altitudes (especially in mountainous areas). In order to calculate the actual airfield pressure (QFE), you need to subtract the elevation figure for that particular runway from the QNH value (measured in hectopascals) indicated by the controller (or in the automatic landing information service ATIS message). For example, given QNH 1004, the elevation of runway 04 in Sabetta is 14 meters, this is approximately 1 hectopascal (1 hPa = 11 m), which means QFE will be 1004-1 = 1003. At ordinary Russian airports, this is the value that would be set on the electronic barometric altimeter when switching from the standard (1013, corresponding to 760 mb) to the airfield pressure. And in Sabetta - as in the “civilized” world - 1004. And already being guided by it, there is a further descent and landing approach. In addition, we multiply the resulting value of QFE(1003) by 0.75 and get 752 millibars. This is to install on old-style analog dial altimeters. They have long been used not for guidance, but for control.
Standard pressure (1013 or 760) is used when flying at flight level (level flight at altitude), and when descending to “transition level” (the altitude at which the altimeters need to be adjusted from standard to airfield pressure) - which depends on the airfield, but how As a rule, in Russia and lowland Europe it is FL40-50 (4000-5000 feet or 1200-1500 m), at mountain airfields it can be 2500 m. But the Chinese don’t bother - they have a single passage level throughout the country - 3600 m (they stubbornly do not change to feet, like the rest of the world), be it on the plain or in the mountains. And the transition altitude (when, on the contrary, when climbing, you need to rearrange the pressure value from the airfield to the standard one) is the same for everyone - 3000 m. In Russia, this is, as a rule, 800-1000 m. Runway elevation values and flight level/transition altitude values are indicated in the collections ANI. It is curious that in the system of measuring altitude, Russia has gone across the whole world. Both ours and yours. Below the transition height - meters, from the transition level and above - feet (according to the Belarusian model). It seems to be in the global trend, but not quite “bowed in to the Pindos”
The attitude towards workers in Sabetta (I'm talking about the airport) is twofold. On the one hand, there are good living and working conditions. Warm, spacious, bright rooms, equipped workplaces with the latest technology, a canteen inside the airport for workers (prices: portion of chicken - 42 rubles, schnitzel - 54, “German” soup (vegetable with sausage) - 25 rubles, side dish - pea puree - 6 (six) rubles, buckwheat - 11, compote - 11 rubles)
On the other hand, the salaries are clearly not Western (again, about the airport, I don’t know about the others). They work on a rotational basis - 28 days here, 28 days at home. Salary – about 100 thousand. Seems not bad. BUT. Payment is ONLY for the watch. There is no pay for staying at home (or so the workers say). There are 50 per circle. For the north it’s quite sparse. Most of the airport workers are from Samara (Sabetta’s general manager is the former director of Samara Airport). This is not bad for Samara, but you won’t get much money there either. Plus, the watch flies on one plane from Samara. Nonresidents (there are people from St. Petersburg, Tomsk, and other nearby places) get to Samara at their own expense.
There are no dissatisfied people. Everyone is glad that they were able to get settled. In Samara itself, its own airline died long ago; the airport is more alive than dead. With the cancellation of tourist charters to Egypt and Turkey, passenger traffic has fallen sharply, staff are being cut, and work is in trouble.
So those who find themselves working in Sabetta consider themselves lucky.
But even here there are rednecks.
The “anchor tenant” of Sabetta, the Yamal LNG company, is building a huge plant for the production of liquefied natural gas (even its symbolism is on the airport terminal building) in order to transport it by tankers all over the world (there are already 2 ports in Sabetta - river and sea). In the workers' canteen there is a notice: "Yamal LNG workers are served out of turn." Because of this, a half-curiosity, half-misunderstanding occurred. Some arrogant guy with a red beard and a disgustedly protruding lower lip, dressed in civilian clothes without identification marks (usually workers wear branded overalls), came up and simply pushed my colleague aside, took the tray and stood up to serve. We did not recognize him as a Yamal LNG worker, and we were outraged by his impudence and quietly began to push the man. By words and actions (push out). The man began to threaten - I will expel you, they will block your entry here! Then he took out his phone and allegedly started giving commands over the phone - point the cameras here, find out what kind of people they are and prepare for deportation! Like, a big boss (this despite the fact that communications, especially local ones, are so unstable that mostly only SMS passes through). Moreover, all the swearing took place in a low voice, with “sweet smiles.” Apparently, for locals, deportation is the most terrible punishment, and its slightest threat brings the most violent ones to their senses. Even though there are absolutely no grounds for deportation (as in our case). Apparently, the arbitrariness and lack of rights here are absolute.
But this “threat” did not cause us anything but a smile. Deport. If you have time. We fly out from here ourselves in 2-3 hours. Better yet, call the office and tell them not to send us here again. Let others fly into this hole. Otherwise, the flying time is scanty (it’s only an hour’s flight), and the hemorrhoids are through the roof. Either the cargo is not prepared, then there are no cars, then the loaders have been recalled, then their working day is over (!), or something else (usual situations for Russia), or suddenly the weather has deteriorated. And it turns out 2 hours of flying time in 2-3 days. Earn money and don’t deny yourself anything. Interestingly, the man was so discouraged by our reaction that he then came up to our table and asked, “Guys, are you kidding me?” He could not believe in our independence. Apparently, I’m used to the fact that people, on the contrary, rush here, and strangers like us are so rare. And the crews of arriving planes (regular passenger traffic with Moscow is quite intense - several frequencies a day, plus rotational planes with gas workers and construction workers from different cities) do not stay overnight, but try to get out of here as quickly as possible. So he left in bewilderment.