Located in the Arctic, north of Russia and Norway, the Barents Sea has been subject to industrial activities for years; mostly related to fishing, shipping and more recently to petroleum exploration. But while the opportunities are vast, so are the challenges. The extreme climate poses constant hazards to people and operations. And with industrial activities expected to increase in the years to come, the Barents Sea’s fragile ecosystems may come under greater strain.
The need to enforce and implement adequate and comprehensive rules and standards for health, safety and the environment in the Barents Sea is urgent. This is what prompted the Norwegian Government to initiate a DNV-led project to safeguard petroleum activities in this fragile yet resource rich area of the High North.
The intertwined challenges of energy scarcity and climate change have pushed the question of a sustainable development of the Barents Sea to the top of the global agenda. Two years ago Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jonas Gahr Støre, initiated a Russia-Norway cooperation project aimed at safeguarding petroleum activities in the Barents Sea. Mr Støre asked DNV to take the lead, and two years on the project is in its third and final phase.
Talking to DNV Forum, Mr Støre elaborates on the project.
“The harmonisation project was initiated as part of the Norwegian Government’s High North policy. Knowledge is at the core of the High North policy, and is closely linked to environmental management, utilisation of resources and value creation,” says Mr Støre. “As a nation, we need more knowledge in order to fully seize the opportunities ahead and meet the challenges we are facing in the High North.”
For Mr Støre, one of the important aspects of the Barents 2020 programme has been the establishment of close cross-border cooperation between authorities, private enterprise and social partners in Russia and Norway.
“When we launched the High North Strategy in 2006 we announced that we wanted to initiate more knowledge generation and development projects within the framework of the Barents 2020 programme, which is managed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Russia, energy and climate change are all key areas of the strategy. We particularly wanted to develop Norwegian– Russian cooperation on health, safety and environmental issues, involving authorities, industry and social partners in both countries,” he says.
And while the cooperation with Russia was a fundamental prerequisite for the project, other parties have increasingly shown an interest as well.
“The intention of the project was to develop closer cooperation with Russia on sound exploitation of the petroleum resources in the Barents Sea. We have since seen that many more parties than we had expected have been interested in the project, including partners from third party countries. It has become a veritable showcase for our High North policy,” says Mr Støre.
A win-win situation
As cross-border cooperation has flourished, the harmonisation project has brought together two sets of unique experiences: Russian expertise with regard to cold climate operations and Norwegian expertise in offshore operations.
Mr Støre elaborates; “One of the main objectives of the Government’s High North policy is to strengthen our cooperation with Russia. I think that – in general – projects that involve sharing knowledge across borders lead to a win-win situation. In this case, both parties have substantial, but somewhat different, knowledge. I believe that there will be an important exchange of knowledge that will make both parties better equipped to meet the opportunities and challenges ahead as we continue to develop the immense energy resources in the Barents Sea.”
And according to the Minister, the project strikes at the very core of the bilateral relations between Russia and Norway. “Our relations with Russia are a central dimension of Norway’s High North Policy. Russia is our neighbour and the country with which we share the Barents Sea. The management of our respective resources in the Barents Sea will always be at the heart of our cooperation. The harmonisation of HSE standards for petroleum activities in the Barents Sea is one of many steps we need to take to ensure sustainable development of our energy resources in the area.”
The way forward
But in the end, what matters is whether the recommended standards are made mandatory for anyone seeking to operate in the Barents Sea. With regard to whether or not the final recommendations will be taken into account in future exploration and production activities in the Barents Sea, Mr Støre admits that the harmonised standards are only one step on the way.
“I believe this is the first important step of many that we need to take to make sure that future exploration and production activities in the Barents Sea are carried out in a sustainable manner on both sides of the border. I find this bottom-up approach interesting. By bringing the industrial actors together, we will be able to ensure that the guidelines are viable for the industry. We do, however, have some way to go before we reach the stage where the guidelines can be made mandatory. Now it’s necessary for the authorities to reach agreement. But I believe that a sound basis for future implementation has been laid down by this important project.”