Let's Take a Tour of Russia's Most Controversial Oil Rig

Russia is in the midst of a massive push to drill for oil in its remote Arctic fields, and as the first offshore rig nears the beginning of production, controversy has already erupted. Most recently, Greenpeace activists were arrested on the region's first platform and charged with piracy, a case that will see international courts. Now we get a tour of the rig in question, known as the Prirazlomnaya platform, via BBC reporter Daniel Sandford.

The rig, located in the small Pechora Sea, has been touted as the first Arctic-ready, ice-resistant oil platform. The lone drilling platform in the Prirazlomnoye field, it's a crown jewel for Russian oil underdog Gazprom, which has seen drilling licenses get snatched up by state-owned behemoth Rosneft. But the platform's start of production has already been delayed for more than a year.

More than a year ago, Gazprom announced a year delay in getting Prirazlomnaya, citing safety concerns. At the time, Russian news outlets pegged the delay's cost at $200 million; with the delay having been even longer than expected, it's likely to cost even more.

That just goes to show how extraordinarily difficult it is to drill in the Arctic. Russians have dreamt of drilling in the Arctic for decades, even going so far as to plan on melting the whole thing. Russia's oil production in Siberia is unrivaled, especially considering the extreme conditions, and fracking may be the country's next big petro boom. But offshore drilling has remained a pipe dream.

It's just too expensive—a single rig can cost billions of dollars—too dangerous, and too difficult to get the oil out from under the frozen Arctic, never mind the need to transport it to refineries. After seeing Shell's failed drilling attempt in the Arctic earlier this year, which was followed by a halt on subsequent efforts, it should come as no surprise that the Prirazlomnaya platform has had troubles.

It should also come as no surprise that Greenpeace activists would try to protest the rig, as the risks to the environment are exceedingly high. Fortunately for the 30 arrested in the Arctic Sunrise protest, the piracy charges look unlikely to stick. Even Russian President Vladimir Putin said they're not pirates, and Greenpeace's general counsel sounds confident that Dutch arbitrators will file for the defendants. Still, as Sandford notes in the video, the Prirazlomnaya platform is nearly ready to start pumping the hoped 400 million barrels of oil it's projected to produce in the next 25 years.

@derektmead