Environmental campaigners and analysts are criticizing Norway’s plan to open new areas for oil drilling in the Arctic, saying that operations could threaten pristine areas and wildlife and potentially strain Norway’s relations with Russia, which has great ambitions for Arctic development, the Guardian reports . Norway’s Ministry of Petroleum and Energy proposed in June to offer 136 blocks for oil and gas exploration in the licensing round for less explored areas on its shelf, including 125 blocks in the Arctic Barents Sea that are currently unavailable for drilling . The so-called 25th numbered licensing round – expected to be announced in the fall of 2020 after consultation on the proposed areas for oil drilling – typically includes frontier parts of the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). The ministry proposes nine frontier areas for exploration, including eight areas in the Barents Sea and one area in the Norwegian Sea. The public […]