Lukoil proposes to include Nadezhda hydrocarbon block in Baltic Sea in list for companies - Natural Resources Ministry

MOSCOW. Aug 2 (Interfax) - Lukoil-Kaliningradmorneft LLC, in the summer window from June 1 to July 31, sent a proposal to include the Nadezhda hydrocarbon block in the Baltic Sea in the list of federal subsoil plots located within territorial seas for Russian oil companies to exploit, the Natural Resources Ministry told Interfax.

This year, the mechanism for granting subsoil areas of federal significance for hydrocarbons in the internal waters and territorial sea of Russia has changed - now they will be auctioned if two or more bids are submitted. Previously, since 2020, companies could obtain such plots on an declarative basis, which was actively used, in particular, by Gazprom Neft and Yamalshelf.

The new procedure for granting plots in territorial waters is as follows: a list of subsoil plots of federal significance is compiled based on the proposals of companies and agreed upon by the Natural Resources Ministry. Applications for the sites are then collected. If only one application is received for an area, it is granted to the company on a declarative basis. If there are two or more applicants, an auction is held.

In addition, the new mechanism stipulates that a company submits an application for a site already formed. Previously, applicants submitted applications where they independently indicated the boundaries of the desired sites, and if these boundaries overlapped with other sites, additional procedures were required to bring all parties to an agreement, which was not always possible.

Now, twice a year - on December 1 and June 1 - Rosnedra draws up proposals to supplement the list of subsoil areas of federal significance in internal waters and the territorial sea for approval by the government. The updated list will be posted on the Natural Resources Ministry and Rosnedra websites. Applications for the right to use the sites are accepted from December 1 of the current year to January 31 of the next year and from June 1 to July 31 of the current year.