Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has signed a decree which takes the strategically important area out of the border zone regulations. The decision comes after pressure from Rosneft, which currently is using the area for operations connected with ongoing drilling in the Kara Sea.
In the period August-October this year, about 2000 oil servicemen, most of them Norwegians, are flown in to the Norwegian town of Kirkenes, and from there taken by bus across the Russian border to Lavna, near Murmansk. From Lavna, the oilmen are sent by ship further to the Kara drillsite.
In order to smoothen the transportation to Lavna, Rosneft needed a liberalized access regime. The transportation of servicemen is conducted by the Norwegian Borealis Transport, a company which now has full access rights to the area, the website of the Russian MFA office in Murmansk informs.
With the flight, bus and sea transportation included, the work travel distance for the project personnel amounts to more than 4000 km.
In addition to the current operations, Rosneft also intends to use the Lavna area as oil terminal and supply base for parts of its future Arctic projects. The company has become a leading stakeholder in the Murmansk Transport Hub, a major infrastructure project which includes the building of a new railway line and new industrial objects in the area.
Until now, Lavna and the western part of the Kola Bay has been closed territory for both Russians and foreigners, and special permissions special permissions from the FSB have been needed for access.
The decree signed 3 July states that the liberalized travel regulations include the area between the Mishukovo-Snezhnegorsk road in the north, the Kola Bay in the east, the Murmansk city border near Minkino in the south and the federal mainroad between Zapolyarny and Murmansk in the west.
With the liberalized regime, it becomes possible for foreigners to visit also the war memorials in the village of Mezhurechie. The memorials include one dedicated to Norwegian partisans fighting on Soviet side during 2WW.
