The Russian Ministry of Mineral Resources announced that it is presenting a claim for expanding the continental platform in the Arctic Ocean, in over a million square meters.

The study was presented for its conciliation with other ministries and institutions, informed Minister Serguei Donskoi.

Russia plans to present its petition to the Special UN Commission on the Continental Platform before summer, when its revision is scheduled at the world organization.

Sovereignty over the Arctic platform is claimed by States with coasts to that Ocean like Denmark and Greenland, whose governments presented their petitions to the international organization.

For Russia, the territory in question is part of the social-economic development strategy of the country, reason for which we called the document as application for a sustainable future, argued Serguei Donskoi, quoted by the agency Ria Novosti. The Russian claim over a territory rich in hydrocarbon reserves in the so-called White Ocean, includes the submarine mountain ranges of Lomonosov and Mendeleev, was made back in 2001, but dismissed by the UN special commission on the Continental Platform, due to a lack of documentary evidence.

Together with Russia, Denmark, Greenland, the United States, Canada and Norway also dispute their rights over the Arctic’s continental platform.

According to the estimations of the Russian Ministry, the reserves in the northern ocean are estimated in 452.2m tons of oil and 9bcm of gas, besides 131 million tons of condensed gas.

Source: Prensa Latina