Investment Portal of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation
RU
Investment Portal of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation

Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District

General information

The Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District is located in the northern part of the West Siberian Plain and borders the Kara Sea.

More than half of its territory is located beyond the Arctic Circle and the entire district is inside Russia’s Arctic zone.

Administrative centre: Salekhard.

Population of the district: approximately 550,000.

Area of the district: 769,250 km2.

Time zone: UTC+5. The Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District is two hours ahead of Moscow.

Cities

Salekhard
Founded in 1595
Population: approximately 50,000
The only city in the world on the line of the Arctic Circle.
Novy Urengoy
Founded in 1975
Population: approximately 118,000
Noyabrsk
Founded in 1975
Population: approximately 108,000

Economy

Gas production
The region is home to more than 100 fields, which produce 90% of the country’s gas. Total proven reserves on the Yamal Peninsula and in the Kara Sea shelf exceed 20 trillion m3.

Total proven reserves of

20
trillion m3
Oil production
Around 70 oil fields are under development in the region. The local Novy Port light oil grade is superior to Brent grade in its properties. The region has proven oil reserves of approximately 5 billion tonnes.

Around

70
oil fields
Reindeer herding and fishing
The region ranks first in the Russian Federation in terms of the number of deer at private farms (approximately 800,000). In 2021, more than 2,000 tonnes of venison were prepared. The fish catch amounted to 10,000 tonnes in 2021.
Approximately
800,000
deer

Sightseeing attractions

Obdorsky Fort

The wooden fortress that laid the foundation for the city of Salekhard existed in the 16th–19th centuries. In 1994, reconstruction work began on the monument to restore the historical and architectural complex.

Merzlotnik

The world’s largest natural underground refrigerator. Some 200 underground caverns stretching more than a kilometre were built under the permafrost in the middle of the twentieth century. The facility is still used to store fish: the temperature remains at minus 15–17°C year-round.

Polar-Ural Natural Park

Highlights of the park includer a jade valley with an unusual combination of alpine relief and mesas; lakes that never freeze; karst caves; an abandoned mine and railway; and the camps of Indigenous people.