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For Norway, Barents oil is big politics

Cross-border relations with Russia is a key issue in Norway's development of the Barents Sea

Geopolitical concerns are a key motivation behind Norway’s oil and gas exploration in the Barents Sea, a Norwegian minister confirms.

Location

Minister of Environment Bård Vegard Solhjell admits that the Barents Sea is different than other Norwegian waters. The main reason is the area’s location along the border to Russia, the big and powerful neighbor in the east. Commenting on the Norwegian Government’s plans for exploration in the waters, which until summer 2011 were part of a 175,000 square km disputed zone with Russia, Solhjell underlines the importance of underlying political circumstances.

“In terms of security politics, it is vital to get the full knowledge about a formely disputed area, which could hold resources located on the very border”, he says to E24.no. “Afterall, Russia is a powerful country, with which we do not have the same relationship as with for example Iceland”, he adds.

Following the 2011 ratification of the Barents Sea delimitation deal, Norwegian immediately sent seismic vessels to the area, and the elaboration of a regional consequence study started up far earlier than what is usual.

Solhjell confirms that the southeastern part of the Norwegian Barents Sea is currently being discussed in the government. The minister, a representative of the government junior partner Socialist Left Party, argues that the discussion on whether to drill in the Barents Sea is diffent than the discussion on exploration in waters located further west, for example the ones around the island of Jan Mayen.

“The southeastern Barents Sea borders on Russia, while Jan Mayen borders on Iceland, and there is a major difference between Russia and Iceland”, he underlines. 

The Norwegian government recently announced that it will postpone exploration in the Jan Mayen waters. A decision on the Barents Sea will reportedly be presented to the Norwegian Parliament, the Storting, before summer.

The Norwegian discussion on Barents Sea drilling comes as Russia’s state oil company Rosneft has signed comprehensive cooperation agreements with ENI, Statoil, as well as the Chinese CNPC, on exploration in Barents waters. The area is believed to hold huge volumes of hydrocarbons. Preliminary studies presented by the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate indicate that the formerly disputed southeastern Barents Sea likely holds 1.9 billion barrels of oil equivalents, and resources on the Russian side of the border are believed to be far bigger.

According to Jarand Rystad, managing partner of Oslo-based consultant Rystad Energy, the Barents’ prospects are “enormously exciting.” In a recent interview Rystad said that “there’s oil and gas everywhere. It’s just a matter of finding thick enough sands, good enough traps for the resources to be commercial,” Bloomberg reports.

In the 22nd Norwegian License Round as many as 72 of 86 blocks are in the Barents Sea. As previously reported, Rosneft is among the bidders for the blocks.