Russia presents revised claim to extended Arctic shelf

Russia's environment minister Sergei Donskoi has submitted a claim to the UN for a portion of the Arctic seabed.

The application, presented to members of the UN Commission in Washington on 9 February, lays claim to about 1.2 million square kilometres of Arctic continental shelf. The region is estimated to hold hydrocarbon reserves in the region of 5 billion tonnes.

According to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, a country can make a claim for an exclusive economic zone stretching up to 200 nautical miles from its shores into the continental shelf, which gives a country rights including those to claim mineral resources in that area. A country can also apply for an extended continental shelf, allowing it to access more of the Arctic’s resources.