The European Court of Human Rights is asking Norway to respond to charges by activists that allowing new oil and gas drilling in the Arctic during an environmental crisis may breach fundamental freedoms.
The government of Norway’s decision to open up new oil drilling areas in the Arctic is to be challenged in court by groups Greenpeace and Nature and Youth.
"The Barents Sea is now a sea of opportunities," the Norwegian Minister for Petroleum and Energy, Ola Borten Moe, stated in the announcement of the 22nd licensing round on June 26.
The Norwegian government is preparing to commission further seismic surveys over the area of the Barents Sea that was previously claimed by both Norway and Russia.