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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Published in:Arctic Review on Law and Politics
Main Authors: Daniel Fjærtoft, Moe Arild, Natalia Smirnova, Alexey Cherepovitsyn
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Norwegian
Published: Cappelen Damm Akademisk NOASP 2018
Subjects:
oil
gas
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.23865/arctic.v9.1083
https://doaj.org/article/fb95987d9bad4e9cb685577f296bab4f
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spelling fttriple:oai:gotriple.eu:oai:doaj.org/article:fb95987d9bad4e9cb685577f296bab4f 2023-05-15T14:22:36+02:00 Unitization of petroleum fields in the Barents Sea: Towards a common understanding? Daniel Fjærtoft Moe Arild Natalia Smirnova Alexey Cherepovitsyn 2018-03-01 https://doi.org/10.23865/arctic.v9.1083 https://doaj.org/article/fb95987d9bad4e9cb685577f296bab4f en no eng nor Cappelen Damm Akademisk NOASP 2387-4562 doi:10.23865/arctic.v9.1083 https://doaj.org/article/fb95987d9bad4e9cb685577f296bab4f undefined Arctic Review on Law and Politics, Vol 9, Iss 0, Pp 72-96 (2018) Norway Russia oil gas cooperation exploration offshore delimitation droit scipo Journal Article https://vocabularies.coar-repositories.org/resource_types/c_6501/ 2018 fttriple https://doi.org/10.23865/arctic.v9.1083 2023-01-22T19:36:47Z 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 Arctic review on law and politics Barents Sea Unknown Arctic Arctic Ocean Barents Sea Norway Arctic Review on Law and Politics 9 0
institution Open Polar
collection Unknown
op_collection_id fttriple
language English
Norwegian
topic Norway
Russia
oil
gas
cooperation
exploration
offshore
delimitation
droit
scipo
spellingShingle Norway
Russia
oil
gas
cooperation
exploration
offshore
delimitation
droit
scipo
Daniel Fjærtoft
Moe Arild
Natalia Smirnova
Alexey Cherepovitsyn
Unitization of petroleum fields in the Barents Sea: Towards a common understanding?
topic_facet Norway
Russia
oil
gas
cooperation
exploration
offshore
delimitation
droit
scipo
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 Daniel Fjærtoft
Moe Arild
Natalia Smirnova
Alexey Cherepovitsyn
author_facet Daniel Fjærtoft
Moe Arild
Natalia Smirnova
Alexey Cherepovitsyn
author_sort Daniel Fjærtoft
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 Cappelen Damm Akademisk NOASP
publishDate 2018
url https://doi.org/10.23865/arctic.v9.1083
https://doaj.org/article/fb95987d9bad4e9cb685577f296bab4f
geographic Arctic
Arctic Ocean
Barents Sea
Norway
geographic_facet Arctic
Arctic Ocean
Barents Sea
Norway
genre Arctic
Arctic
Arctic Ocean
Arctic review on law and politics
Barents Sea
genre_facet Arctic
Arctic
Arctic Ocean
Arctic review on law and politics
Barents Sea
op_source Arctic Review on Law and Politics, Vol 9, Iss 0, Pp 72-96 (2018)
op_relation 2387-4562
doi:10.23865/arctic.v9.1083
https://doaj.org/article/fb95987d9bad4e9cb685577f296bab4f
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op_doi https://doi.org/10.23865/arctic.v9.1083
container_title Arctic Review on Law and Politics
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