The government has introduced a moratorium on the provision of new sites on the Arctic shelf to subsoil users, said Minister of Natural Resources Sergei Donskoy.

“In conditions of macroeconomic instability, the government has decided to introduce a temporary moratorium on the provision of new subsoil plots on the continental shelf for use,” Donskoy said on Wednesday at a meeting of President Vladimir Putin with members of the government. This, he said, will allow companies to focus on fulfilling their obligations already taken and optimally distribute financial resources for geological exploration.

“At the same time, in order to specify the obligations of subsoil users, Rosnedra is completing the updating of licenses, taking into account the infrastructure projects being implemented in the region,” Donskoy said.

As of August 1, 2016, within the Arctic zone there are 248 licenses for the use of subsoil for the purpose of geological study, exploration and production of solid minerals, and on the shelf of the Arctic zone, geological exploration for oil and gas is carried out in 75 license areas with a total area of 1. 3 million sq. km.

The government has stopped the distribution of areas on the Arctic shelf