Modern trends in the global energy market linked to the Sustainable Development Goals often lead to the adoption of political decisions with little basis in fact. Stepping up the development of renewable energy sources is an economically questionable but necessary step in terms of its social and ecological effects. However, subsequent development of hydrogen infrastructure is, at the very least, a dangerous initiative. In connection with mentioned above, an attempt to examine hydrogen by conducting an integral assessment of its characteristics has been made in this article. As a result of the research conducted, the following conclusions concerning the potential of the widespread implementation of hydrogen in the power generation sector have been made: as a chemical element, it harms steel structures, which significantly impedes the selection of suitable materials; its physical and volume characteristics decrease the general efficiency of the energy system compared to similar hydrocarbon solutions; the hydrogen economy does not have the necessary foundation in terms of both physical infrastructure and market regulation mechanisms; the emergence of widely available hydrogen poses a danger for society due to its high combustibility. Following the results of the study, it was concluded that the existing pilot hydrogen projects are positive yet not scalable solutions for the power generation sector due to the lack of available technologies to construct large-scale and geographically distributed infrastructure and adequate international system of industry regulation. Thus, under current conditions, the risks of implementing such projects considerably exceed their potential ecological benefits.

The development of markets for low-carbon energy sources requires reconsideration of issues related to extraction and use of oil and gas. Significant reserves of hydrocarbons are concentrated in Arctic territories, e.g., 30% of the world’s undiscovered natural gas reserves and 13% of oil. Associated petroleum gas, natural gas and gas condensate could be able to expand the scope of their applications. Natural gas is the main raw material for the production of hydrogen and ammonia, which are considered promising primary energy resources of the future, the oxidation of which does not release CO₂. Complex components contained in associated petroleum gas and gas condensate are valuable chemical raw materials to be used in a wide range of applications. This article presents conceptual Gas-To-Chem solutions for the development of Arctic oil and gas condensate fields, taking into account the current trends to reduce the carbon footprint of products, the formation of commodity exchanges for gas chemistry products, as well as the course towards the creation of hydrogen energy. The concept is based on modern gas chemical technologies with an emphasis on the production of products with high added value and low carbon footprint.

Scientific and technological progress over the last century has led to an enormous increase in the consumption of minerals, including energy resources. Most of the exploited oil and gas fields are already considerably depleted, so it is necessary to search for new hydrocarbon resources, particularly at great depths. Deep drilling plays a special role in solving this problem. The article considers the world and Russian experience of ultra-deep wells drilling. The me-thods and technologies used in the construction of wells, as well as complications and accidents occurring during their drilling were analyzed. The analysis revealed that the existing limitations for drilling parameters of deep and ultra-deep wells are caused by the technical characteristics of surface and bottomhole drilling equipment, which do not meet the extreme drilling conditions. The directions for development of deep and ultra-deep well drilling machinery and technologies are suggested. The notion of extreme rock and geological drilling conditions is introduced, which describes drilling in conditions of hydrostatic pressure of flushing fluid column and high bottomhole temperature both at stable and unstable wellbore conditions, coming close to the upper limit of operating technical characteristics of bottomhole assembly, the drill string and flushing fluid.

Article provides a brief overview of the complications arising during the construction of oil and gas wells in conditions of abnormally high and abnormally low formation pressures. Technological properties of the solutions used to eliminate emergency situations when drilling wells in the intervals of catastrophic absorption and influx of formation fluid have been investigated. A technology for isolating water influx in intervals of excess formation pressure has been developed. The technology is based on the use of a special device that provides control of the hydrodynamic pressure in the annular space of the well. An experiment was carried out to determine the injection time of a viscoelastic system depending on its rheology, rock properties and technological parameters of the isolation process. A mathematical model based on the use of a special device is presented. The model allows determining the penetration depth of a viscoelastic system to block water-bearing horizons to prevent interformation crossflows and water breakthrough into production wells.

The article discusses the possibility of improving the design of the turbine of a hydraulic drilling machine for drilling wells in very hard rocks and at considerable depths (5000–12,000 m). The analysis of the results of studies on the technical and technological characteristics of downhole drilling motors showed that it is impossible to ensure stable operation due to the limitation on the operating temperature, while with an increase in the flow rate of the drilling fluid, they do not provide the required power on the spindle shaft, and cannot reach high-speed drilling. In such conditions, turbodrills with a significant change in the profile of the stator and rotor blades and a reinforced support unit are most suitable. The paper presents an invariant mathematical model, which made it possible to determine the optimal geometric parameters based on preselected boundary conditions and the main performance characteristics of the turbine being developed. The results obtained were tested by the finite element method, which showed a convergence of 12.5%. At the same time, zones with the lowest and highest flow rates were identified. Additionally, this paper presents a comparative analysis of the obtained hydraulic turbine with turbodrills of the TSSH-178T and Neyrfor TTT 2 7/8 brands. In comparison with the domestic turbodrill, the developed turbine design shows a 13-fold reduction in its length and a 3-fold reduction in torque, provided that the maximum power is increased by 1.5 times. In comparison with the foreign analog, there is a decrease in length by 8.5 times, an increase in torque by 5 times, and in maximum power by 6.5 times.

This article provides a detailed analysis of issues related to the complications while drilling in hydrate-bearing rocks of permafrost areas. The goal of the paper is to develop recommendations for preventing gas occurrence while drilling gas hydrate deposits and to eliminate gas leakiness of the intercasing space of the well. The results of modeling the effect of drilling mud injection on the temperature field of the well are presented. It is revealed that the most significant role is played by the injection rate of drilling mud and its temperature. The recommended flow rate of the process fluid should be within 0.30–0.45 m³/s, and its temperature should not exceed 20 °C. Controlling the parameters of drilling mud and its flow rate allows for avoiding intensive gas occurrence while drilling in gas hydrates. The presence of gas hydrates may be the cause of gas leakiness of the intercasing space in the permafrost area. One of the ways to eliminate leakiness is colmatation (clogging). A method of preventing leaks in the intercasing space of the gas well is the use of colmatating solution. An aqueous solution of sodium silicate with the addition of 2% polymer is used as a colmatating composition.