Russia’s Murmansk reported that after signing a border agreement between Russia and Norway on September 15, foreign oil companies may have access to Russia’s lucrative Arctic oil and gas reserves.
The Russian Minister of Natural Resources Yuri Trutnev said that the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources has recently proposed to expand the list of companies with the right to develop Russian offshore oil and gas fields.
In his speech, Trutnoff did not say that he supported the participation of overseas companies, but he said that Russia’s foreign investment law must be modified.
Earlier on September 15, Russia and Norway ended the 40-year-long border dispute between the two countries by signing an Arctic border treaty. It will open the door to attract more foreign investment to its offshore oil and gas exploration projects.
Trutnev in Murmansk, Russia’s port city in the Arctic near the Norwegian border, told media reporters: “We need investment and technology. We need to attract investment in the Arctic.â€
According to the existing laws, Russia’s only state-controlled Gazprom and Rosneft have the right to develop Russia’s offshore oil and gas resources.