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No Norwegian services to Russian Arctic offshore oil

Norway's Foreign Minister Børge Brende speaking at the Barents Council meeting in Tromsø in 2013.

Foreign Minister Børge Brende says Norway joins the restrictive measures against Russia introduced by EU earlier in September.

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The measures announced by the Norwegian government on Tuesday are similar to the third round of EU sanctions.

That includes all services from Norwegian companies that could be necessary for Russia’s exploration and production of Arctic offshore and deepwater oil. The sanctions is likely to freeze Statoil’s agreement with stateown Rosneft from 2012 on joint exploration in the northern part of the Barents Sea and Sea of Okhotsk north of Siberia. 

Estimated investments were between $34 and $40 billion. Rosneft has no offshore experience, while Statoil has both long-time offshore, but also Arctic experience from its Hammerfest LNG project in the western Barents Sea.

The EU text reads that all services necessary for deep water oil exploration and production, Arctic oil exploration or production and shale oil projects in Russia may no more be supplied, for instance drilling, well testing or logging services.

”Despite huge international pressure, Russia has not shown any willingness to change its illigal actions in Ukraine. Norway will therefore introduce similar tightening of measures as introduced by the EU on September 12,” says Foreign Minister Børge Brende in a statement Tuesday afternoon.

Norway has since the start of the Ukraine crisis joined the EU and Nordic countries in a collective response to Russia’s violation of international law. The Norwegian Parliament supports the sanctions announced by the Government today.