Мурманская миля. 2016, № 3.

HYSTORY MURMANSK. A city based in the northwestern p a rt o f Russia and the adm inistrative center o f the M urmansk Region. Population: 301,572 (according to the 2016 census). It is the biggest city in the w orld beyond the Arctic Circle. Murmansk stands on the rocky eastern shore o f the Kola Bay in the Barents Sea. It is one o f the largest ports in Russia. O n M ay 6, 1985, M urmansk was aw arded a hero city title fo r defense against the Germ an invasion in WW II. It was aw a rd e d the O rd e r o f Lenin, the First Class O rd e r o f the Patriotic W ar, the O rd e r o f the Red Banner o f Labor, and the G o ld Star M edal, as well. O n O cto b er 4, 2016, M urmansk celebrated its 100th anniversary. М УРМ АНС К - город на северо-западе России, административный центр М урманской области. Население — 301 572 чел. (2016). Крупнейший в мире город, расположенный за Северным полярным кругом. М урманск находится на скалистом восточном побережье Кольского залива Баренцева моря. Один из крупнейших портов России. За о б о р о ну от немецких войск в годы Великой Отечественной войны М урманску 6 мая 1985 года присвоено звание города- героя. Награжден орденом Ленина, орденом Отечественной войны I степени, орденом Трудового К расного Знамени и медалью «Золотая Звезда». 4 октября 2016 года город отпраздновал свой столетний юбилей. 8 GATEWAY TO THE WORLD OCEAN The early 80s saw the emergence of new areas in geological survey. In 1982, a resolution was passed by the government on the formation of expeditions to explore oil and gas structures in the Russian Arctic offshore seas. Such exploration was substantially different from the regional survey. It was on the premises of MAGE that the first expedition of this kind was set up. One seismic group and three vessels had to be assigned to the M inistry of Oil and Gas Industry. From then on, the expedition split up, with one part staying with the Soviet M inistry of Geology, while another falling under control of the M inistry of Oil and Gas Industry. Each ministry began to develop an area of its own. It was not long before MAGE went beyond the Arctic boundaries into international waters. The expedition staff conducted integrated geological and geophysical survey along the Angola-Brazil and Canary- Bahamas geotraverses in the Atlantic Ocean, and the Mascarene-Australian geotraverse in the Indian Ocean. During the same time, they studied an extensive field of ferromanganese nodules in the Pacific Ocean. Our scientists were able to reach the Ross Sea and the Weddell Sea, as well. Ultimately, MAGE gained unique data on the structure of the Earth’s crust and mineral resources of the World Ocean. THE STORMYWATERS OF THE 90S In early 1991, MAGE entered the international geophysical services market with Geoteam, a Norway-based company, and started to work on the shelf of Norway. The development of the Norwegian offshore fields is at a more advanced stage compared to Russia because Norway is aggressively developing mineral resources and is now working to maintain them as long as possible. This step both recognized the academic and engineering expertise of Murmansk marine geologists and marked a milestone in the company’s evolution, which made the transition to the market economy less burdensome. This cooperation enabled MAGE to operate the w orld ’s cutting-edge technologies and deploy them fo r its projects. “A high level of scientific knowledge and technology in our field is the key to acquiring customers and making contracts. Owing to this, MAGE has been able to compete with other companies in geologically promising areas, such as the Indian offshore,” says Gennady Kazanin. Many large oil and gas companies, such as Shell, Mobil, Nopek, Statoil, British Petroleum, Texaco, Norsk Hydro etc. became customers of MAGE. Surveys were conducted on the coast of Norway, Ireland, Scotland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Great Britain, Nigeria, Morocco, near the Canary and Faroe Islands, on the Canadian and Indian shelf. The amount of 2D seismic survey completed under international contracts exceeded 380,000 lkm, which is 9.5 times longer than the equator. The stormy 90s were an acid test fo r the national marine geology, including MAGE. On the one hand, we had to carry on with federal programs. On the other hand, the government somewhat neglected to provide funding fo r them. In 1994, MAGE was privatized. Marine geologists were lucky to escape the fate of thousand Russian businesses that had been hastily staffed by totally ignorant owners. MURMANSK MILE • 3-2016