Oil and gas operators will soon be able to drill in an offshore Arctic zone crossing Norwegian and Russian borders after the Scandinavian country opened up the region.
The area in the eastern Barents Sea, as big as Switzerland, is estimated to hold about 1.9billion barrels of oil equivalent and could be included in Norway’s next licensing round.
Norway has wanted to explore in the area for years, but a border dispute with Russia stretching back 40 years kept energy companies out until the two nations agreed a deal in 2010. The Norwegian Parliament has now voted in favour of exploration in the region.
Norway is expected to start its next oil and gas licensing round later this year.
Norway’s vast oil sector has been moving further and further into the Arctic as it runs out of prospects in the North Sea and the government this month awarded 24 licenses to energy firms, with 20 of them in the Barents Sea.
Some oil and gas deposits may straddle the border between Norwegian and Russian waters, but the Norwegian Government has previously reached agreements with the UK over distribution of reserves shared by both countries. Around 85% of Statoil’s Statfjord field is in Norwegian territory, while the remainder is owned by the UK.
