The Russian {open_quotes}Rosshelf{close_quotes} company for developing the shelf is the nucleus of a new branch of industry for developing oil and gas fields on shelves of Russia, primarily in the Arctic. {open_quotes}Rosshelf{close_quotes}, created on the basis of leading naval defence enterprises, Russia`s largest geological and mining enterprises, and territorial organizations managing the northern regions of Russia, obtained a license in March 1993 for the right to use the natural resources of Europe`s largest Shtokman gas-condensate field and Prirazlomnoe oil field in the Barents Sea and thus has all the conditions and possibilities for the successful organization of oil and gas production on the continental shelf of Russia. The goals of {open_quotes}Rosshelf{close_quotes} are: the production of oil and gas equipment at converted defence enterprises, including under foreign license and for export; the development of oil and gas fields on the continental shelf of Russia; the creation of new prospective technologies for offshore oil and gas production under conditions of the Russian and mainly the arctic shelf. {open_quotes}Rosshelf{close_quotes} should develop the Pechora Sea fields, mainly the Prirazlomnoe oil field with its relatively small depth and distance from the shore. It is planned to develop Europe`s largest Shtokman field at a distance ofmore » 600 km from the shore in the course of 10-12 years with expenditures of about $6 billion. The use of defence technologies underlying the activities of {open_quotes}Rosshelf{close_quotes} gives the company a real change to reach the world level of offshore oil- and gas-production technology. Broad cooperation with foreign companies, mainly in the area of engineering, finances, ecology, and safety, planned also for this. Calculations show that already the priority projects of {open_quotes}Rosshelf{close_quotes} will provide 250,000-300,000 highly skilled jobs at Russian defence enterprises.« less