Bloomberg.com: News — Wow. This is a topper to show up the Chunnel.
Russia plans to build the world’s longest tunnel, a transport and pipeline link under the Bering Strait to Alaska, as part of a $65 billion project to supply the U.S. with oil, natural gas and electricity from Siberia.
The project, which Russia is coordinating with the U.S. and Canada, would take 10 to 15 years to complete, Viktor Razbegin, deputy head of industrial research at the Russian Economy Ministry, told reporters in Moscow today. State organizations and private companies in partnership would build and control the route, known as TKM-World Link, he said.
A 6,000-kilometer (3,700-mile) transport corridor from Siberia into the U.S. will feed into the tunnel, which at 64 miles will be more than twice as long as the underwater section of the Channel Tunnel between the U.K. and France, according to the plan. The tunnel would run in three sections to link the two islands in the Bering Strait between Russia and the U.S.
Found by Aric Mackey
I’m with Nadorshin on this one. Let the Chinese pay for the transportation infrastructure, and the Russians can sell them the oil, gas and electricity.
I guess this starts the conversation, but sounds more like a tunnel from nowhere to nowhere. Better make it an earmark.
The article seems to say the main function is to route electrical cables from Russia to USA to send power from tidal electrical generating potential that has not been built?
How about the Russians build those generators, then USA can lay a simple cable to send the juice eastward?
Not everything has to be so friggin expensive for someonele’s benefit. I love the line that USA will be a 25% investor “to guarantee return for the private investors.” Yep.
The impressive (Chunnel X2)underwater tunnel bit is only 64 miles not 3700. Who is writing these inaccurate headlines, Fox News?
Not to mention the fact that the strongest earthquake ever experienced in North America was in Alaska…
“Russian officials will formally present the plan to the U.S. and Canadian governments next week”.
So this is just a glorified press release of a project that has not been reviewed or approved.
Can we say “Vaporware?”
Vaporware!
The tunnel would land you in Eastern Siberia. They also need rail and pipeline support across a thousand mile of frozen tundra.
One of the world’s longest running press releases:
http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=10946
When I saw that the original piece was dated April 18, I thought you and Bloomberg had a window into the future. Then I saw it was dated April 18, 2007. Thanks for bringing us the hot breaking news!
I wouldn’t get too excited about this. If it works out like the russian collaboration in the international space station it’ll probrably take twice as long, run over budget, and function poorly.
The problem with this idea, in terms of rail is that someone will have to foot the bill to build the rail line from the Bering Strait to the rest of the North American rail infrastructure that currently ends in northern Canada. Who is going to pay for that? Yes there are railroad tracks in Alaska but they aren’t connected to the lower 48.
Maybe, just maybe, someday you’ll be able to ride a train from southern Mexico all the way into Europe.
Edit… not like that is the only problem! Just one of them.
How much did the big dig cost? That should give us a better estimate of what this will cost.
http://tinyurl.com/tt7k3
Most of the quakes are along the Aleutian chain and into Anchorage. That 5.0 quake is unusual for the area.
Here’s the hazard map:
http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/recent/ak00036290_w.html
Just what we need. On-foot access to North America for hordes of starving Chinese.
Don, they are not going to make it on foot, unless they figure out how to catch enough mosquitoes to make soup.
Underneath it is a partical collider. And you thought it was about cookies.
Welp, If history serves us right.. There should be another old post about the Mexico to Manitoba Highway coming soon.
The NAFTA superhighway is planned to be half a kilometre wide, and will link Manitoba to Mexico. Interstate 69 (no, I’m not kidding) will be a transportation corridor for trucks, cars, trains and oil pipelines. Flanked by fences, it will effectively bisect the USA and divide the country into east and west. Access along it, and most likely across it, will be restricted.
Back in the seventies I drove trucks from the lower forty eight to Alaska, and it was no milk run. This thing may happen, and it would be world changing, but it won’t happen in our lifetimes. Infrastructure, infrastructure…
Just as I figured. Instead of us getting the foreign oil monkey off our backs, they go and figure out how to bring us even more. We can probably thank Ted Stevens for this. Him and his “tubes”. Between this project and the Iraq war’s eventual payoff (dirty cheap oil). All that alternative energy research will again be tossed into the nearest landfill. Because oil prices are artificially set, and have little to do with scarcity. Just with politics. When the alternative start to serious threaten the oil market. It will come flowing into the US, by the billions of cheap barrels full.
SQUARE-ONE AUTOMOTIVE:
THE TIME FRAME FOR MAKING THIS HAPPEN IS WAY OVERSTATED. U.S. INDUSTRY WILL PUSH A GAS-OIL PIPELINE ALL THE WAY TO THE WELLHEAD IN FAR LESS THAN THREE YEARS, AND THE REST OF THE “LUXURIES” CAN BE ADDED LATER. IF EVER. U.S. PETRO-SUPPLIERS ARE MORE THAN READY TO JUMPSTART THE GTL (GAS-TO-LIQUID)FUEL REFORMULATION ON A MASSIVE SCALE, AND AMERICAN CONSUMERS ARE INCREDIBLY TIRED OF GETTING HAMMERED AT THE PUMP. YOU CAN BET THE FARM THAT WE’VE ALREADY TO BROKEN GROUND ON THIS SIDE OF THE WATER ALREADY… AND THAT THE NECESSARY PAPERWORK HAS ALREADY BEEN FAXED TO THE APPROPRIATE PARTIES. TO SAY THAT THIS LITTLE PROJECT IS ALREADY ON A FAST TRACK IS A WILD UNDERSTATEMENT. THE U.S. COULD WHACK ITS ENERGY COSTS BY NEARLY HALF,PRACTICALLY OVERNIGHT. AND THAT IS SOME VERY SERIOUS CABBAGE.
ABOUT RIGHT NOW, YOU MIGHT BE ASKING YOURSELF “WHO IS THIS SOB, AND WHY IS HE SO COCK SURE OF HIMSELF?”
WELL FIRST OF ALL, ALLOW ME TO ANSWER THE PART OF THE QUESTION. YOU’RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT; I AM. AND IF YOU EVER MET MY MOTHER… BUT ENOUGH OF THAT. IT’S THE SECOND HALF OF THE QUESTION THAT NEEDS MY ATTENTION.
THERE ARE TIMES WHEN THE FREE MARKETPLACE IS A VERY CRUEL MISTRESS, AND THIS IS ONE OF THEM. AMERICA IS NOW BURNING THROUGH HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF “UNNECESARY” DOLLARS A MINUTE ON FOREIGN ENERGY, FROM A PATCHWORK OF MID EASTERN NATIONS THAT ARE HIGHLY UNRELIABLE AND EVEN DANGEROUS. THE ULTIMATE REALIZATION OF AN ENERGY PACT WITH RUSSIA, WILL BE SECURITY. THAT’S RIGHT, I SAID SECURITY. VLADIMIR PUTIN’S RUSSIA IS NOW ANCHORED FIRMLY IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY. AND THAT MEANS THAT RUSSIA UNDER MEDVEDEV WILL BE JUST AS ADDICTED TO THE INFLOW OF REVENUE, AS WE ARE TO THE UNLIMITED FLOW OF LOWCOST ENERGY. PLUS, WE HAVE A NEARLY UNLIMITED ENERGY RESOURCE READY TO STEP UP AND TAKE THE PLACE OF RUSSIA’S EXPORTS PRACTICALLY AT A MOMENT’S NOTICE; COAL.
COAL-TO-GAS AND COAL-TO-LIQUID FUEL CAPABILITIES ARE LITERALLY AT THE TURN-KEY STAGE. SO THIS COUNTRY ISN’T GOING TO BE LEFT IN THE LURCH. FAR FROM IT. AND THE END PRODUCTS ARE UNIFORMLY COMPATIBLE WITH THE PRE-EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE AND ITS CONTENTS.
RUSSIA SIMPLY WON’T BE ABLE TO JERK OUR CHAIN. BECAUSE WE’LL JUST THREATEN TO END THE MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL RELATIONSHIP. AND THE FORMER SOVIET UNION WON’T BE WILLING OR ABLE TO WALK AWAY FROM SUCH A MASSIVE CASH COW. YOU SEE…, DEPENDENCE GOES BOTH WAYS. AND BECAUSE OF OUR ENORMOUS RESERVES OF COAL, THEY NEED OUR MONEY A LOT MORE THAN WE NEED THEIR GAS.
HOW DO I KNOW THAT THIS IS GOING TO HAPPEN IN RECORD TIME? BECAUSE THERE WON’T BE ANY MEANINGFUL GOVERNMENT PARTICIPATION TO SLOW THINGS DOWN. VENTURE CAPITOL WILL PAY FOR EVERY NICKLE OF IT, AND WALLSTREET WILL LEAD THE CHARGE. TRUST FUNDS, CAPITOL MANAGEMENT HOUSES AND HEDGE FUND PLAYERS WILL BE FALLING ALL OVER THEMSELVES IN ORDER TO GET THE BIGGEST PIECE OF THIS PIE THEY POSSIBLY CAN. AND EVERYONE’S GOING TO EXPECT AN IMMEDIATE PAYOFF. THIS IS GOING TO BE LIKE THE OKLAHOMA LAND RUSH, BUT TO THE 40TH POWER. AND ALL OF A SUDDEN, THE MID EAST IS GOING TO BECOME AN EMPTY, LONELY PLACE. WITH THE BEDHOUIN AND THEIR CAMELS HAVING THE DESERT ALL TO THEMSELVES. NOT TOO SHABBY. AND AS FOR THOSE PESKY CAFE REGS THAT ARE SUPPOSED TO KICK IN AS OF 2015? I WOULDN’T GIVE THEM A SECOND THOUGHT. THEY’RE GOING TO BE DOA.(DEAD ON ARRIVAL.)WHO CARES HOW MUCH GASOLINE WE’RE ALLOWED TO BURN, WHEN WE AREN’T GOING TO BE BURNING ANY? SOME DAYS IT’S JUST BETTER TO BE LUCKY THAN GOOD. THOUGH I MUST SAY THAT T. BOONE PIKKINS WAS RIGHT OUT FRONT WITH THIS ONE. (BIG SURPRISE THERE, HUH?)HE’S BEEN DOING STUFF LIKE THIS SINCE WELL BEFORE I WAS BORN. HE’S NOW CALLING FOR US TO BE RELYING ON GTL FUEL INSTEAD OF OIL. JUST GO TO THE WEB PAGE FOR SHELL-AMERICA AND WATCH ITS “CLEARING THE AIR” VIDEO. IT DOESN’T ADDRESS HOW GTL AFFECTS OUR DEPENDENCE ON MID EASTERN OIL OR MENTION THIS NEW RELATIONSHIP WITH RUSSIA. BUT IT DOES SHOW YOU HOW LONG THE TECHNOLOGY’S BEEN AROUND. AND WITH SHELL NOW ACTUALLY PROMOTING IT ON THEIR OWN WEBSITE…, IT SHOULD EXPLAIN JUST HOW READY THEY ARE TO EMPLOY IT. IT’S TIME TO MOVE. IN FACT, IT’S WAY PAST TIME TO MOVE. OUT.
I agree with Dan Smith when he said “COAL-TO-GAS AND COAL-TO-LIQUID FUEL CAPABILITIES ARE LITERALLY AT THE TURN-KEY STAGE” because many people think it is as well. A congresswoman from West Virginia is trying to pass a bill that would require America to produce so much liquid fuel from coal to lessen our dependence on foreign oil. And this article I read a little bit ago are telling people why and how you should invest in it. That article is called The Coal to Liquid Debate. Its written by a Harvard graduate geologist/ editor of that website. Could you get any more reliable. If this article doesn’t convince you that its going to happen then I might go as far as to say you’re delusional.
IF THE WORLD UNITES LIKE THIS WILL THERE BE A PROBLEM TO ANY ONE IN THE WORLD.