The regulation of petroleum exploration and production in Russia

This chapter seeks to provide an overview of the complex legal framework for oil and gas exploration and production in Russia. It considers policies related to the development of Russian petroleum resources. The chapter provides a brief overview of the legal framework, considering both the onshore laws and those pertaining to the Russian Continental Shelf. It examines the complex legal framework for Russian petroleum exploration and production. This complexity is in part due to the restrictions in place for deposits of federal significance, as well as the use of both production sharing contracts and licences granting access to Russian petroleum resources. The chapter seeks to simplify and systematise the complex interaction of laws currently applying to petroleum activities in Russia. In the Putin era, there has been a major refocus on both petroleum resources and the Arctic as such, three core policy documents of the Russian federation, the Energy Strategy, the Arctic Strategy, and the Maritime Doctrine.