Deputy PM Calls for Expanding Oil Companies' Access to Russian Acrtic Shelf

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Oil companies should gain larger access to Russia's Arctic shelf, but only with strict conditions on development, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Khloponin said Wednesday.

"I believe that, of course, it is necessary to expand the access of companies to the shelf… Another thing is that it is necessary to create strict conditions from the point of view of development of raw materials and of using technologies on those raw materials," Khloponin said.

Current legislation limits the number of companies that can work on Russia's Arctic shelf, with only companies that have had five years of experience operating in the area having access to the shelf. Several companies, including oil giant LUKoil, have repeatedly requested greater access to the shelf.

The Arctic shelf is believed to hold enormous deposits of oil and natural gas. Russia has been laying claims to these deposits within its offshore border areas, along with the four other Arctic nations – the United States, Canada, Norway and Denmark.

Khloponin, who oversees Russia’s natural resources, said the government would invest some 30 billion rubles (almost $600 million) in various exploration projects.

Russia’s Natural Resources Minister Sergei Donskoi said earlier that Moscow could consider granting private companies access to the Arctic shelf in spring or summer of 2015.