Only Russian vessels to be permitted to supply oil and gas from the shelf

Western sanctions against the Russian sector, which complicated the production of oil and gas on shelf, has led to the fact that the Parliament Building seriously discusses the possibility to ban vessels under foreign flags to export hydrocarbons. This can create difficulties for offshore projects, as most of the world's tanker fleet sails under "comfortable" flags. Also the amendments to allow the export only to ships, built in Russia, are discussed, but it is even more problematic: domestic shipyards are still not ready to build such tankers.

The Russian Ministry of Transport proposes to amend the law on mineral resources to oblige to export oil and gas from the shelf of the Russian Federation only by the courts under the Russian flag, the Interfax reported yesterday, referred to its sources. The Ministry of Transport confirmed to the Kommersant that the bill was under consideration by the Government, but didn’t disclose any details. Sources of the Kommersant, familiar with the situation, say that the idea is actively discussed "for at least six months". "There is a debate about the transition - about a year or longer: now the majority of vessels are operated or built under "comfortable" foreign flags," - says one of them. Another source of the Kommersant says that the amendments include a requirement to use vessels, built in Russia, for all new contracts for the transportation of offshore LNG and oil from 2020.