Sergei Donskoi
© RIA Novosti. Mihail Mokrushin

Sergei Donskoi: UN to review Russia’s request on Arctic shelf expansion in February

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Sergei Donskoi said at a news conference that the UN commission will review Russia's request to extend its continental shelf in the Arctic next February.

"The review is planned for February 2016 in the UN. I plan to personally attend the presentation of the application. I hope we'll be able to do everything required for its approval," the minister said.

Russia made a request to extend the shelf by including the Lomonosov Ridge and other formations that are part of the continent. Previously Russia claimed the same section of the shelf but its application was rejected for lack of information. To file a new application, Russian researchers conducted extensive geological, geophysical and seismic studies in the Arctic Ocean and a bathymetric survey, paying special attention to the structure of the Mendeleyev and Lomonosov ridges.

The updated application covers an underwater area of about 1.2 million square kilometers. Predicted resources amount to 4.9 billion tons of hydrocarbon equivalent.