Moscow and Oslo signed an agreement on their maritime border in the energy-rich Barents Sea, ending a dispute that has dragged on for decades. The disputed territory covered 175,000 square km (67,600 sq miles), an area about half the size of Germany, mainly in the Barents Sea between proven petroleum reserves on the Russian and Norwegian sides.

Canada, Russia, Norway, the United States and Denmark — the only nations with Arctic coastlines — are racing to file territorial claims over oil, gas and precious metal reserves that could become more accessible as the Arctic ice cap shrinks. International law states that the five have a 320 km (200 mile) economic zone north of their borders, but Moscow is claiming a larger slice based on its contention that the seabed under the Arctic is a continuation of its continental shelf. “Our sector in the Arctic is estimated to contain up to 100 billions tons of resources,” Natural Resources Minister Yuri Trutnev said.

Russia and Norway have already begun tapping mineral riches buried beneath the Barents Sea. Norwegian oil company Statoil brought its Snoehvit natural gas field on line in 2007. Meanwhile, Russia’s Gazprom, in conjunction with Statoil and France’s Total, is developing the Shtokman gas field.

The deal is expected to boost energy cooperation between the two countries, as it paves the way for the lifting of a 30-year-long moratorium on oil and gas extraction in the disputed zone. “Undoubtedly, this treaty will make a substantial contribution to strengthening the legal regime in the Arctic, based on the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and to supporting the atmosphere of peace and cooperation there,” a source in the Russian presidential administration said.

Norway has urged Canada to negotiate and settle their disputes with Russia to decrease existing tensions over sovereignty in the Far North.

Article – The Guardian (UK) September 15^th, 2010.