The Gulf of Ob ( (russian: Обская губа, Obskaya guba; also known as ''Bay of Ob'', russian: Обский залив, Obsky zaliv, link=no) is a bay of the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...

, located in Northern

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

at the mouth of the

Ob River } The Ob ( rus, Обь, p=opʲ: Ob') is a major river in Russia. It is in western Siberia; and together with Irtysh forms the world's seventh-longest river system, at . It forms at the confluence of the Biya and Katun which have their origins ...

."Gulf of Ob."Earthsnapshot.com
Accessed June 2011. It is the world's longest

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

Geography

The mouth of the Gulf of Ob is in the

Kara Sea The Kara Sea (russian: Ка́рское мо́ре, ''Karskoye more'') is a marginal sea, separated from the Barents Sea to the west by the Kara Strait and Novaya Zemlya, and from the Laptev Sea to the east by the Severnaya Zemlya archipel ...

between the Gyda and Yamal peninsulas. It is about long and varies in width from about . It generally runs north and south. The gulf is relatively shallow, with an average depth from , which restricts heavy sea transport. The

Taz Estuary The Taz Estuary (russian: Тазовская губа) is a long gulf formed by the Taz River. It consists of a roughly long estuary that begins in the area of the settlement of Tazovsky and ends in the Gulf of Ob, which is connected with th ...

is an eastern side-branch formed by the

Taz River The Taz (russian: Таз) is a river located in western Siberia, has a length of and drains a basin estimated at . Its middle and lower course are located within Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, while its upper course borders with Krasnoyarsk Kra ...

. There are several islands near the mouth of the Ob, at the beginning of the estuary, such as Khaley Island. All these islands are close to the shore and they are generally flat and low-lying. They are protected wetlands under

Ramsar Ramsar may refer to: * Places so named: ** Ramsar, Mazandaran, city in Iran ** Ramsar, Rajasthan, village in India * Eponyms of the Iranian city: ** Ramsar Convention concerning wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran ** Ramsar site, wetland listed i ...

. Further north, except for a few islands located close to the shore, such as Khalevigo and Nyavigo, the Gulf of Ob is free of islands until it meets the

Beluga The beluga whale (/bɪˈluːɡə/) (Delphinapterus leucas) is an Arctic and sub-Arctic cetacean. It is one of two members of the family Monodontidae, along with the narwhal, and the only member of the genus Delphinapterus. It is also known as the wh ...

whales seasonally migrate to the Gulf of Ob.

Hydrocarbons

Very large

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon d ...

and

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...

deposits have been discovered in this region. To the west is the

Yamal project Yamal project, also referred to as Yamal megaproject, is a long-term plan to exploit and bring to the markets the vast natural gas reserves in the Yamal Peninsula, Russia. Administratively, the project is located in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Ok ...

to develop resources in the

Yamal Peninsula The Yamal Peninsula (russian: полуостров Ямал, poluostrov Yamal) is located in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug of northwest Siberia, Russia. It extends roughly 700 km (435 mi) and is bordered principally by the Kara ...

. To the south-east the

Yamburg gas field The Yamburg gas field is the world's third largest natural gas field located north of the Arctic Circle in the Tazovsky and Nadymsky districts in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Tyumen Oblast, Russia. History It was discovered in 1969 by ...

is the world's third largest

natural gas field A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the presence ...

, located between the southern portion of the gulf and the

to the east. Oil and gas from the wells are sent south via pipeline and

rail transport Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

. A new port has been developed at

Sabetta Sabetta (russian: Сабетта) is the location of a port and liquified natural gas (LNG) plant— Yamal LNG—on the Yamal Peninsula, in the north of Russia along the Northern Sea Route. Location The site chosen for the port is on the western ...

, on the west bank of the gulf, to support the Yamal LNG plant. Commercial operation started in December 2017 with the loading of the first

LNG carrier An LNG carrier is a tank ship designed for transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG). History The first LNG carrier '' Methane Pioneer'' () carrying , classed by Bureau Veritas, left the Calcasieu River on the Louisiana Gulf coast on 25 January ...

Gazprom PJSC Gazprom ( rus, Газпром, , ɡɐzˈprom) is a Russian majority state-owned multinational energy corporation headquartered in the Lakhta Center in Saint Petersburg. As of 2019, with sales over $120 billion, it was ranked as the large ...

's Arctic Gate offshore oil loading terminal is in the gulf, designed to operate where ice could be over two meters thick.

References

External links

Islands at the mouth of the ObA very thorough paper about this region
Ob Bodies of water of Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug Ob River Ramsar sites in Russia Ob {{YamaloNenetsAutonomousOkrug-geo-stub

Geography

Hydrocarbons

See also

References

External links