EU freed projects on land of Arctic from sanctions

The European Union freed oil and gas projects from the sanctions on land of the Arctic. On Thursday, appropriate changes to the sanctions package were adopted by the EU Council. On Friday, they are published in the EU official magazine.

Now the ban on the supply of equipment applies only to the Arctic waters. In addition, there are restrictions on the exploration and production of oil at sea depths of more than 150 meters, as well as for the production of shale oil by hydraulic power.

At the same time, the EU banned the supply of equipment under previously concluded agreements. Previously, the issuance of permission was allowed if the sale, delivery, transfer or export of equipment concerns the fulfillment of obligations under agreements concluded before August 1, 2014.

"Earlier, foreign companies could have questions about whether it is possible to work in the Russian Arctic zone for projects on land - now this is clearly defined," the head of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia Sergey Donskoy told Interfax.

According to the minister, now foreign contractors will have no doubt about the possibility of their participation in Arctic projects on land. The document provides clarifications regarding the work of European companies in the exclusive economic zone, a criterion of the permitted depth of work is established. In this part, the document is harmonized with similar US sanctions, the minister said.

On the land of the Russian Arctic there are Lukoil oil fields (Khilchuya, Lyevozhskoye), Rosneft (Vankorsky Blok: Vankorskoye, Suzunskoye, Russian, Tagulskoye, Board, Russian-Rechenskoye), Gazprom Neft (Novoportovskoye), as well as the Kharyaginsky deposit (SRP-Project, where the French operator is the French. Total).

On September 12, the United States and the European Union imposed new sanctions against Russia in connection with the situation in Ukraine. The American and European packages of new measures are largely similar. In particular, oil and gas companies are prohibited from supplying goods and technologies necessary for the development of oil fields in deep -sea plots and Arctic shelf, as well as in shale layers. In the EU documents, specific companies are not indicated. The US sanctions list included Gazprom, Gazprom Neft, Lukoil, Surgutneftegaz and Rosneft.