Russia's Natural Resources Ministry proposes allowing private companies to develop continental shelf to ensure resource sovereignty

MOSCOW. Oct 2 (Interfax) - Russia's Natural Resources Ministry has drafted amendments to the Law on Subsoil Resources to improve Russian companies' access to developing the domestic continental shelf and adjacent subsoil areas of federal significance, the ministry said.

The bill has already been published on the official portal for legal acts.

The proposal seeks to allow domestic companies to participate in shelf development provided they have at least five years of experience developing the continental shelf of Russia or other nations.

The right to conduct mineral exploration and extraction on the shelf is currently restricted to organizations in which the government holds a stake exceeding 50% of the authorized capital or controls more than 50% of the voting rights.

The subsoil of Russian waters holds immense resource potential. Hydrocarbon resources alone amount to approximately 117 billion tonnes of fuel equivalent, with 104 billion tonnes located on the Arctic shelf. Meanwhile, total production from the country's continental shelf over the past 55 years has reached 351.3 million tonnes of oil and 944.8 billion cubic meters of gas, comparable to Russia's annual hydrocarbon output, according to the Natural Resources Ministry.

"These new measures should attract private and state-owned companies to the sector, firms with years of experience developing fields on the continental shelves of other nations, and possessing the expertise and technology required to develop even the most challenging offshore subsoil areas," the initiative's authors believe.