Russia and Norway have signed an agreement on mutual rights to seismic acquisition in the Barents Sea.
The agreement was signed on Thursday by the Norwegian Minister of Petroleum and Energy Kjell-Børge Freiberg and his Russian colleague, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Dmitry Kobylkin.
“The Agreement is a natural follow-up of the signing of the Delimitation Agreement in September 2010 and will benefit both countries. It entails a better possibility for both countries to map the resource potential up to, and along the delimitation line, says Norwegian Minister of Petroleum and Energy,” the Norwegian minister said.
According to the Norwegian government’s statement, Norway and Russia are in the process of mapping the resources on their respective side of the delimitation line in the Barents Sea.
This new agreement will entail a right for seismic vessels from both countries to cross the delimitation line and use their seismic equipment within a distance of 5 kilometers on the continental shelf of the other country.
“This will secure both countries the possibility to acquire good quality seismic data up to, and along the delimitation line. Such data are important in case of a discovery of oil and gas extending across the delimitation line. According to the Delimitation Agreement of 2010, such discoveries shall be subject to unitization,” the Norwegian government said in a statement on Thursday.