ABSTRACT

The purpose of this chapter is to document the status of offshore petroleum activities and review recent developments through the prism of centreperiphery relations in Russia.1 How have the petroleum resources affected relations between the regions and the federal centre, and to what extent have the regions influenced developments within this issue area - the development of offshore petroleum resources? The analysis deals particu­ larly thoroughly with Murmansk Oblast, although Arkhangelsk Oblast and Nenets Autonomous Okrug are also touched upon. In Arkhangelsk, and particularly in Nenets, it is the development of onshore resources that is of primary concern. The development of these resources, particularly in the Timan-Pechora Basin, has its own set of problems, which falls outside the scope of this chapter.