Our Arctic Neighbors: Russia may designate offshore oil off-limits

Russia’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has proposed the creation of a national reserve of valuable mineral resources that would be kept for future generations and would include most offshore oil resources. Licenses for these fields might then be out of reach for state-owned Rosneft and Gazprom, which have been vying for them, until the government decides it is time to develop the oil.

In any case, the Russian companies do not have the technology or financial resources to develop offshore oil, the Web site b-port.com reported Sept. 5. It also noted that a federal natural gas reserve already exists, comprising 31 strategic onshore and offshore deposits. These include far northern deposits in the Republic of Sakha, the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, and in the Barents, Kara and Okhotsk seas.

—Sarah Hurst