ANOMALOUS RAPID GROWTH AND EXPLOSION OF THE C23 YAMAL GAS-DYNAMIC HEAVING MOUND IN 2020—2024

During the Yamal-2024 expedition, the authors studied for the first time the C23 site of catastrophic gas explosion on August 30, 2024 in the area of the Bovanenkovo oil and gas condensate field, Yamal Peninsula, on the slope of the marine terrace. Based on the photogrammetric processing of 463 UAV aerial images, 3D-model and digital twins of the C23 object were built, including the ones in virtual reality controlled by artificial intelligence. Monitoring studies from 2011 to 2024 using RS (remote sensing) data (ArcticDEM and UAVs) revealed an anomalous high average perennial heaving mound growth rate of about 40 cm/year for four years before its explosion, which, together with similar data previously obtained at sites C11, C17 and C22, can serve as the main criterion for identifying explosive perennial heaving mounds. Thus the authors have confirmed the endogenous gas-dynamic mechanism of the perennial heaving mound growth with subsequent powerful blowout, self-ignition and gas explosion with the formation of a crater in the cavity top. The results make it possible to reduce the risk of emergency and catastrophic situations at the oil and gas facilities in the Arctic.

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