As per the press release the Barents 2020 cooperation project on safeguarding petroleum activities in the Barents Sea was concluded in Moscow. It is a joint project in which more than 100 Russian and Norwegian experts have worked together for close to three years on identifying common rules and standards for health, safety and the environment in the Barents Sea.
Recommendations have been presented in front of more than 200 representatives from industry, research institutions and authorities. The Barents Sea has been subject to industrial activities for years. The extreme climate, however, poses constant hazards to people and operations. And with industrial activities expected to increase in the years to come, there is a need to ensure a strong focus on implementing adequate standards for health, safety and the environment.
Thus Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre has initiated a Russia-Norway cooperation project aimed at safeguarding petroleum activities in the Barents Sea in 2007. It is a part of Barents 2020, a central element of the Norwegian Government’s strategy on the High North. DNV has been in charge of coordinating the project on Norwegian side while Gazprom and VNIIGAZ have been central actors on the Russian side.
CEO and President of DNV Henrik O. Madsen said that its public-private nature has been one of the success factors of this project. Both authorities and the industry realize the need to enforce and implement adequate rules and standards in order to safeguard petroleum activities in the Barents Sea in the years to come.
