Russian Arctic Offshore Petroleum Governance: The effects of western sanctions and outlook for northern development

The Arctic has historically been a strategically important region for Russia, from before the Cold War to the recent efforts in increasing shipping along the Northern Sea Route. Russia holds the largest share of petroleum resources in the Arctic, the governance model for which has been changing over the past few decades based on the current political priorities, external events, and geophysical changes in the region. Following the conflict in Ukraine, the European Union and the United States adopted sanctions limiting the cooperation between Russian and western companies for Arctic offshore petroleum development. This paper analyses the transformation in national governance of natural resources in the Russian Arctic, focusing on offshore oil and gas. It provides a historical background of the governance model to facilitate the analysis of the effects of western sanctions on the current resource development and its regulation. Through the analysis of legal and policy documents, this paper provides an outlook for future developments in the Russian Arctic offshore resource governance.