Unitization of Petroleum Fields in the Barents Sea: Towards a Common Understanding?
The expected discovery of petroleum fields that cross the new boundary between Russia and Norway in the Barents Sea could mean that both parties will lay claim to the same subsoil resources. The Treaty on Maritime Delimitation in the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean (Barents Treaty) prescribes that...
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University of Tromsø - The Arctic University of Norway, Faculty of Law
2018
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Online Access: | https://arcticreview.no/index.php/arctic/article/view/1083 https://doi.org/10.23865/arctic.v9.1083 |
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ftjarlp:oai:nordicopenaccess.no:article/1083 2023-05-15T14:18:43+02:00 Unitization of Petroleum Fields in the Barents Sea: Towards a Common Understanding? Fjærtoft, Daniel Moe, Arild Smirnova, Natalia Cherepovitsyn, Alexey 2018-03-15 application/pdf text/html application/epub+zip application/xml https://arcticreview.no/index.php/arctic/article/view/1083 https://doi.org/10.23865/arctic.v9.1083 eng eng University of Tromsø - The Arctic University of Norway, Faculty of Law https://arcticreview.no/index.php/arctic/article/view/1083/2362 https://arcticreview.no/index.php/arctic/article/view/1083/2363 https://arcticreview.no/index.php/arctic/article/view/1083/2364 https://arcticreview.no/index.php/arctic/article/view/1083/2365 https://arcticreview.no/index.php/arctic/article/view/1083 doi:10.23865/arctic.v9.1083 Copyright (c) 2018 Arctic Review https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ CC-BY-NC Arctic Review; Vol 9 (2018); 72-96 2387-4562 Norway Russia oil gas cooperation exploration offshore delimitation info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2018 ftjarlp https://doi.org/10.23865/arctic.v9.1083 2022-03-24T06:35:03Z The expected discovery of petroleum fields that cross the new boundary between Russia and Norway in the Barents Sea could mean that both parties will lay claim to the same subsoil resources. The Treaty on Maritime Delimitation in the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean (Barents Treaty) prescribes that such fields should be developed as one unit, governed by a unitization agreement between the two governments and a joint operating agreement between license holders on the respective sides of the border. Norway has more than 40 years’ experience from the unitization of cross-border fields in the North Sea with the United Kingdom. Russia's experience with cross-boundary petroleum field development is limited to Kazakhstan in the Caspian Sea and onshore, where bilateral resource management has been governed by other principles and institutions. While the Barents Treaty text clearly reflects the Norwegian way of managing offshore fields, it does not preclude the Russian way of doing so. We find reason to believe that both parties will enter negotiations over a cross-boundary field in the Barents Sea believing their understanding reflects the true concept of unitization. Despite objective differences between Norwegian and Russian legislation and practice, there is evidence that the two nations have more in common than not in their underlying principles. Discussions are likely to arise regarding the practicalities of implementing field unitization, and arriving at a common understanding will probably require some time. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Arctic Ocean Barents Sea Arctic Review on Law and Politics Arctic Arctic Ocean Barents Sea Norway Arctic Review on Law and Politics 9 0 |
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Open Polar |
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Arctic Review on Law and Politics |
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ftjarlp |
language |
English |
topic |
Norway Russia oil gas cooperation exploration offshore delimitation |
spellingShingle |
Norway Russia oil gas cooperation exploration offshore delimitation Fjærtoft, Daniel Moe, Arild Smirnova, Natalia Cherepovitsyn, Alexey Unitization of Petroleum Fields in the Barents Sea: Towards a Common Understanding? |
topic_facet |
Norway Russia oil gas cooperation exploration offshore delimitation |
description |
The expected discovery of petroleum fields that cross the new boundary between Russia and Norway in the Barents Sea could mean that both parties will lay claim to the same subsoil resources. The Treaty on Maritime Delimitation in the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean (Barents Treaty) prescribes that such fields should be developed as one unit, governed by a unitization agreement between the two governments and a joint operating agreement between license holders on the respective sides of the border. Norway has more than 40 years’ experience from the unitization of cross-border fields in the North Sea with the United Kingdom. Russia's experience with cross-boundary petroleum field development is limited to Kazakhstan in the Caspian Sea and onshore, where bilateral resource management has been governed by other principles and institutions. While the Barents Treaty text clearly reflects the Norwegian way of managing offshore fields, it does not preclude the Russian way of doing so. We find reason to believe that both parties will enter negotiations over a cross-boundary field in the Barents Sea believing their understanding reflects the true concept of unitization. Despite objective differences between Norwegian and Russian legislation and practice, there is evidence that the two nations have more in common than not in their underlying principles. Discussions are likely to arise regarding the practicalities of implementing field unitization, and arriving at a common understanding will probably require some time. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Fjærtoft, Daniel Moe, Arild Smirnova, Natalia Cherepovitsyn, Alexey |
author_facet |
Fjærtoft, Daniel Moe, Arild Smirnova, Natalia Cherepovitsyn, Alexey |
author_sort |
Fjærtoft, Daniel |
title |
Unitization of Petroleum Fields in the Barents Sea: Towards a Common Understanding? |
title_short |
Unitization of Petroleum Fields in the Barents Sea: Towards a Common Understanding? |
title_full |
Unitization of Petroleum Fields in the Barents Sea: Towards a Common Understanding? |
title_fullStr |
Unitization of Petroleum Fields in the Barents Sea: Towards a Common Understanding? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Unitization of Petroleum Fields in the Barents Sea: Towards a Common Understanding? |
title_sort |
unitization of petroleum fields in the barents sea: towards a common understanding? |
publisher |
University of Tromsø - The Arctic University of Norway, Faculty of Law |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://arcticreview.no/index.php/arctic/article/view/1083 https://doi.org/10.23865/arctic.v9.1083 |
geographic |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Barents Sea Norway |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean Barents Sea Norway |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Arctic Ocean Barents Sea |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Arctic Ocean Barents Sea |
op_source |
Arctic Review; Vol 9 (2018); 72-96 2387-4562 |
op_relation |
https://arcticreview.no/index.php/arctic/article/view/1083/2362 https://arcticreview.no/index.php/arctic/article/view/1083/2363 https://arcticreview.no/index.php/arctic/article/view/1083/2364 https://arcticreview.no/index.php/arctic/article/view/1083/2365 https://arcticreview.no/index.php/arctic/article/view/1083 doi:10.23865/arctic.v9.1083 |
op_rights |
Copyright (c) 2018 Arctic Review https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY-NC |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.23865/arctic.v9.1083 |
container_title |
Arctic Review on Law and Politics |
container_volume |
9 |
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0 |
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