A draft bill introducing preferential treatment on offshore prospecting in the Arctic has been submitted to the Russian government for review, according to First Deputy Minister for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic Alexander Krutikov, quoted by TASS news agency.

'The bill gives the Arctic continental shelf new incentives, Including a preferential tax treatment for 15 years. We had a discussion a year ago about how we need to jump-start offshore prospecting, stimulate competition, and simplify access for private investors. Last week the draft was presented to the government without any conceptual objections. It is backed by all the key ministries', Krutikov said, speaking at the plenary session of the 10th International Forum, The Arctic: The Present and the Future.

Earlier it transpired that the idea the Ministry for the Development of the Far East is trying to pitch is to liberalise access to the Arctic and Pacific continental shelf for Russian and international private businesses from 2021 onward, and this proposal is recorded in the ministry's draft legislation. Companies will qualify for access to the continental shelf on the proviso that 'the legal entity or the subsidiary of a foreign legal entity has obtained official registration in a Russian administrative region that lies within the terrestrial territory of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation or the Far Eastern Federal District'.

The 10th International Forum The Arctic: The Present and the Future is taking place at the Expoforum convention centre in St. Petersburg on 10–12 December. The forum is organised by the Association of Arctic Explorers with support from the State Commission for Arctic Development.