Common use of Officially Clause in Contracts

Officially. the procedure of using the agreement system was abandoned in early 1994 when Norway acceded to the European Economic Area. The reason behind the abandonment was the rules of the European Union excluding any discrimination barriers to companies registered in the EEA member states. Despite the fact that during later concession rounds the conclusion of an agreement was unnecessary, it was still suggested that international compa- nies report on their research activity to the Ministry of Petroleum and En- ergy, and the Research Council of Norway. After 1994, one of the conditions for obtaining an offshore production licence was proof of the company’s suf- ficient technological level for working on the shelf. Moreover, the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy announced that information on research and tech- nological development relating to the NCS exploration was necessary for statistical purposes and financing research [16]. In this connection, the Petroleum Act of 1985 was revised and expanded with the following definition: “The licensee shall submit information on plans for further exploration of a deposit and exploration results to the Nor- wegian Petroleum Directorate” [17]. However, this information was not to be used as an official criterion for assessing a company in the course of a concession round. Starting with the 15th round, applicants were asked to provide information on their technologi- cal expertise, in particular, their research experience. It is worth noting that, when considering applications within the 15th round, the Ministry of Industry paid special attention to companies’ achievements in research projects im- plemented in the course of the previous rounds. So, two companies — Conoco and ELF — were “punished” for poor organisation of projects when exploring Heidrun and Frøy/Lille-Frigg fields. These international compa- nies did not manage to obtain operator licences [18]. So, the system of technological agreements was actively used by the Norwegian government in order to transfer innovations and technologies from international oil and gas companies to Norwegian companies in the pe- riod of development of oil and gas industry, and the lack of national research and technological achievements. All in all, these agreements had a favourable effect not only on the de- velopment of Norway’s energy industry but also the country’s socioeco- nomic development as they contributed to the development of an efficient and modern oil and gas industry, and the diversification of the structure of Norway’s industry. The Norwegian experience is worth studying for the purpose of attracting international companies to exploration of oil and gas fields on the territory of Russia in order to adopt latest research results and create optimum conditions for the country’s innovative development. Rus- sian authorities responsible for exploration of hydrocarbon resources could adopt Norway’s practices of concluding research and technological agree- ments with international companies with the aim of gaining access to west- ern research results and stimulating development of modern technologies in the oil and gas sector in Russia. The adoption of Norwegian practices could contribute to the diversification of Russia’s economy and its dependence on the oil and gas sector. Russian authorities who make decisions on granting exploration licences should take into account the level of international com- panies’ research activity in Russia as well as their efficiency and contribu- tion to the development of overall business activity. Thus, international companies will be forced not only to invest but also to get interested in the efficiency of their investments.