Developments in the Barents Sea will be on top of the agenda when Mr. Støre meets with the Russian foreign minister – most probably Sergey Lavrov – in Kirkenes. The meeting could become a breakthrough in the talks on the disputed zone, BarentsObserver writes in an editorial.
Russian signals
Head of state-owned oil major Rosneft last week indicated that Russia the next 40 years will invest up to 12 trillion RUB in hydrocarbon exploration in disputed waters. Mr. Sergey Bogdanchikov, participating in the government’s Marine Board, also said that as much as 13,5-14 billion tons of oil equivalents might be hiding in the country’s disputed waters.
Among Russia’s disputed waters is the 175,000 square meter zone in the Barents Sea. In addition, Russia has unsettled borders in the Okhotsk Sea, in the Black Sea with Georgia and Ukraine, in the Caspian Sea and with the USA in the Far East.
Unsettled waters
Norway and Russia have negotiated over the Barents Sea zone since the early 1970s when international law opened up for the extension of territorial waters to 200 mile. The two neighboring countries subsequently failed to agree about the delineation of the area, leaving a 175,000 square km zone unsettled. While Norway demands a delineation in accordance with a median line, Russian wants the zone to be divided in line with a sector line.
Progress in the negotiations has been made, and only minor parts of the area are now believed to remain unsettled. In 2007, the two countries signed an agreement on the southernmost part of the area in the Varanger Fjord.
Natural resources
The Barents Sea zone is believed to contain major amounts of hydrocarbons and the oil industries of both countries have long expressed interest in the area. As industrial activities in the area around the zone picks pace, pressure for a deal on the disputed waters is believed to increase significantly.
While StatoilHydro and its partners last year started production in its Snohvit gas field on the Norwegian side of the border, Russia’s Gazprom will together with partners Total and StatoilHydro in 2013 start extraction in the huge Shtokman field.
Deal within reach
Foreign Minister Støre has on several occasions said that a deal with the Russians is within reach, and that agreement comes “every day”. The meeting in Kirkenes might be the occasion. A historic Norwegian-Russian deal on the Barents Sea could be announced on the coast of the Barents Sea, in the borderlands between the two countries.
BarentsObserver.com, 30 April 2008
The Norwegian-Russian disputed zone
