The environmental risks of oil and gas development in the region have been evaluated several times, and is a key environmental question facing the region. The focus of the debate is the risk of an accidental oil-spill during exploration or production. The consequences of such a spill depend on the activity, the location, time and potential exposure of environmental valuable species and areas.

Based on the current knowledge we have no reason to believe that the pollution situation in the Barents Sea will change considerably in the near future. However, we need to develop long-time series for pollution to make more secure predictions in the future. Changes in the long-range transportation of pollution to a great extent depend on international regulations of use, the amount of  releases a...