Anna Rapp: Life in the Arctic is an Independent Sailing

The Director of the Stroytransgaz Arctic Terminal Project was the head of the construction of an oil-loading terminal in the Gulf of Ob for two years. Her family was looking forward to the completion of the project. Ms Rapp told Forbes Women about her life in the Arctic, her work among male colleagues, and why women turn out to be the best managers.

Anna Rapp, the Director of the Stroytransgaz Arctic Terminal Project, did not leave the construction site beyond the polar circle for months. For two years, she was the head of construction of the Arctic Gate (Vorota Arktiki) oil-loading terminal in the water area of the Gulf of Ob near Yamal. In spring 2016, the first oil was loaded from here. The command to commence operation was given personally by Vladimir Putin via video conference.

The Gazpromneft Arctic Gate oil-loading terminal is located in the Yamal peninsula, 3.5km offshore in the area of the Mys Kamenny settlement. The terminal is intended to load 8.5 mln tonnes of oil per year from Yamal-Novoportovskoye, one of the largest fields with the field recoverable reserves over 250 mln tonnes of oil and condensate and over 320 bln cubic meters of gas. The loaded oil will be delivered to consumers through the Gulf of Ob, via the Northern Sea Route by tankers escorted by icebreakers (in 2017, two such vessels will be built for Gazpromneft).

Ms Rapp told Forbes Women about her life in the Arctic, her work among male colleagues, and why women turn out to be the best managers. 

— How did you find yourself in the Arctic? Did you take on the project at once or did you have any doubt?

— I had no doubt. At the end of 2013, I worked for the development company Urban group as the Deputy Director for Planning and Economic Affairs. The company managed the construction under several large residential real estate projects simultaneously, and my task was to ensure correct distribution of resources. My job was interesting, stable, but I had a feeling that I had grown up. I applied for the position of the Executive Director, but I was rejected, and I started thinking about resigning. In December 2013, I received a call from my ex-colleague, the Stroytransgaz HR manager, who said: “Anna Nikolayevna, we have interesting projects for you, namely the Vostochny launch site and the Arctic terminal.” I was interviewed, consulted with my mom and brother, made a decision to accept the proposal, and, in February 2014, joined Stroytransgaz-M (the subsidiary of Stroytransgaz JSC).

— From real estate straight into industrial construction?

— Not exactly. Prior to the development company, I worked for a long time in the energy industry, mainly for Rosatom organisations.  After graduating from the Obninsk Institute for Nuclear Power Engineering (OINPE) with a major in environmental physics in 1998, I followed my husband to the Smolenskaya NPP. I worked at Atomtekhenergo, a company performing, among other things, pre-commissioning works at NPPs, for 7 years. I started my career as an engineer in a measuring equipment laboratory. While working at Atomtekhenergo, I was involved with the construction of an NPP in Lianyungang, China. I decided to go there and shortly gained the qualification of a senior engineer for ventilation and air conditioning systems. 

— Was it your husband’s turn to go with you?

— No, it was not. Our daughter started school and my husband looked after her during that period, while I spent a year and a half in China. At that time, salaries ranged from 7000 to 18 000 roubles, and I was earning 40 000. After China, I stayed in Moscow and started looking for a job. I joined Energokaskad as a project manager for energy facilities, i. e. I built boiler plants, mini-CHPPs, stepdown substations. After a while, I returned to Atomstroyexport (the organisation of Rosatom), where I managed a large project, the construction of Molzhaninovka substation.

— Why did you switch jobs?

— Mainly because I wanted to work on interesting large-scale projects. I work in the male industry and it was more difficult for me as a woman to achieve the career progress. In one of the companies, for example, the owners were not ready to entrust finance and management to a woman. 

— How did you choose between the terminal and the launch-site?

— I did not choose. It was the General Director of the company Nikolay Bukharov who made the decision at that time. I’d like to thank him for his trust. Stroytransgaz-M was the company that gave me carte blanche. A strong team was built up under the leadership of Alexey Kazmin, current General Director.

— What exactly did you do?

— The objective was not easy. It was necessary to build an offshore loading terminal during two shipping seasons (two summer seasons, no more than 77 days each) in the Gulf of Ob (the Gulf of the Kara Sea) in adverse climatic conditions and ensure engineering communication with the shore and the product (oil) gathering station of the Novoportovskoye Field. Stroytransgaz managed engineering (design), supplies, and construction of the facility. 

— Why was so little time left for the construction?

— The process of design and selection of loading technology was long. I joined STGM in February 2014. It was time to start the construction, however there were no design documentation or necessary construction approvals. It was required to solve the problem, i. e. to establish cooperation with the design institute from Crimea.

— Why was it chosen?

— The contract had been concluded with them before I joined the company. Shelf is a profession-oriented institute with the 70-year experience in marine engineering. Their portfolio includes the White Tiger platform in Vietnam, platforms in the Caspian Sea, the Varandey terminal for Lukoil.

— Did you have a feeling that it was impossible to finish everything in two years?

— No, I decided at once that I was able to cope with the project regardless of its current phase. It was interesting: the Arctic, Gazpromneft, abundant investments, underwater construction. I was sure that our united team of Gazpromneft and STGM would succeed. I believe that we had a good working tandem with Vladimir Krupenikov, the Deputy Director General of Gazpromneft Yamal, the Customer’s project manager. Despite being different in habits and temperament, we complemented each other. It resulted in a powerful effect and outcome. As a manager and as a man, he was a 100 percent leader at the final stage, and I, as a woman, am grateful for that.

— Did you spend most of the time on Yamal?

— The project geography was wide and included Moscow, Tyumen, Simferopol, the Netherlands, the UAE and, of course, Mys Kamenny settlement on Yamal. In 2015–2016 season, I and the design team of STGM and Gazpromneft-Yamal spent seven months in the Arctic: we flew to Mys Kamenny in September 2015 and returned in May 2016. I, for one, came to Moscow only twice, namely for the New Year and in March. Thus, I spent over the two thirds of the total period away from Moscow.

The office of Stroytransgaz-M and a part of the directorate of Gazpromneft that was responsible for the project are located in Moscow, their headquarters are in Tyumen, the construction site is in Mys Kamenny, the design institute is in Simferopol and the Bluewater headquarters responsible for engineering and supplies of the main equipment, i. e. Arctic Loading Tower Structure (ALTS), in Holland. The terminal itself was manufactured at the GPS shipbuilding yard in Abu Dhabi. We flew there to personally oversee the process.

— What was performed by foreign subcontractors?

— During the 2014 shipping season, Mordraga with the assistance of the vessel Stanislav Yudin installed a template (a guiding frame of 296 tonnes intended for sinking piles) in the water area of the Gulf of Ob and drove piles 90m long. One can compare it with a 30-storey building. In 2015, this company engaged the vessel Oleg Strashnov to mount the terminal itself (ALTS) weighing over 7 000 tonnes in total. The Russian contractor Mezhregiontruboprovodstroy laid two lines of subsea pipe 7.8km long and a 6kW power umbilical.

— In 2014, Russia and many Russian companies were subjected to sanctions. Did it become more difficult for you to work with foreigners?

— Some equipment (ALTS parts) was in the sanction list, but Bluewater ensured the timely delivery.

— Is it possible to implement such a project using only Russian technology?

— Yes, it is. We have both technology, and facilities for such a project, the only question is deadlines. The terminal would be built only in 5 or 6 years. At that time, no one except Bluewater was able to weld such a platform in one year.

— Were there any changes in the project cost? In 2014, prices for materials increased twice due to the leap in exchange rates.

— The purchase contract for foreign equipment was effective until 2014. STGM did not exceed the scope of the budget and the construction was performed in accordance with the contract estimate.

— Before taking on this project, did you check similar terminals in the world?

— Several years before I joined STGM, I had a trip to Sakhalin. The other day, we drove along the coastline and I saw our terminal for the first time. The De-Kastri Port has a similar object: an oil loading turret connected to a subsea pipe. The Sakhalin terminal differs from the Arctic one in terms of specific quantity of metal and the type of maintenance.

The sea on Sakhalin is salty and the ice is loose.

The Gulf of Ob is a confluence of two rivers: the Taz and the Ob. Water is almost fresh, which results in a higher ice density. Therefore, arctic steel was specially chosen to protect the terminal from the ice movement and ice ridges. With that, it will be able to withstand any loads.  

— Are there any foreign analogues of the terminal?

— There are only two such terminals in the world (the Arctic Gate and the abovementioned one in the De-Kastri Port) and they are located in Russia. What is mainly being built is oil-loading terminals that, as a rule, are located at great depth far from the coast. It is like a small town in the sea. People live, work and rest there. The Arctic Gate terminal is located not far from the coast, where the depth is only 10 to 12 m. It operates autonomously.

— How many people worked under your supervision?

— In 2014, over 400 people were engaged during the shipping season, 21 sea vessels supported the project. In 2015, 800 people and 33 ships were involved in the installation of the terminal. In July 2014, the STG project administration numbered 54 people, with 37 remaining at the end. Some of them did not withstand the workload and quit. They all are good technical specialists, but the project and work at the frontier is not suitable for everyone, moreover, work conditions in the Arctic are harsh. Therefore, when selecting the staff we had to pay attention not only to abilities of people. The load was very high.

— Did it take you a long time to get accustomed to living conditions in the Arctic?

— Life in the Arctic is an independent sailing, one cannot get accustomed to it. You are in the environment, where it is always cold, you always wear a uniform, the landscape never changes, i. e. it is either white in winter (this is the best option)  or grey (in summer). There is a lack of oxygen because there are no plants. There are several shops in Mys Kamenny. The population of the settlement is about 800 people. It increased almost up to two thousand due to builders.  

— How did you divide tour time between your job and your family?

— There is no division if you are involved in such projects, because work takes all the time. During the 2015 shipping season, it seems to me that I remembered only my job. I had to explain this to my close ones: we had to put up with that, we would relax after the commissioning of the facility, because such projects happen once in a lifetime.

— Did the team mainly consist of men?

— Yes, it did. However, the project team in Mys Kamenny included female estimators and a female technical administrator, Ekaterina Edisheridze, my assistant.

— Was it difficult to supervise men?

— No, it was not. In the beginning, some men do not take me seriously, but they quickly get over that. The main thing is to show that you are a professional.

Women are flexible, which is necessary in the relations with both the customer and contractors. It is always more difficult to say no to a woman.

In my opinion, female managers are generally interesting, highly performing and as efficient as men.

— Is your daughter also a manager?

— I became a manager because it happened this way. Next year, my daughter will graduate from the university and will deal with international traffic. She is as strong as I am. We shall see how it goes for her.

— What else would you like to do after you finish the project and rest?

— I have already implemented many different projects, the career advancement is not, perhaps, of interest to me – nowhere to grow. I want to receive the next commendation (Anna Rapp received letters of acknowledgement for the construction of the terminal from Alexey Miller, Head of Gazprom, and Alexander Dyukov, Head of Gazpromneft – Forbes) for success in something creative directly from the Russian President, and I know, this will happen.