In 2002 there was a dramatic increase of oil volumes shipped from Northwest Russia along the northern Norway, and then 4 million tons of oil was transported. In 2003, the volume reached 8 million tons, and in 2004 almost 12 million tons of oil was shipped. The annual export of the Russian oil being transported to the west along the Arctic coast may reach the level of 100-150 million tons in the next decade. The oil transportation capacity depends on the infrastructure development along the Northern Sea Route, as well as on the perspective of constructing a new trunk pipeline from the Western Siberia to the Barents Sea coast. Oil pollution prevention should be the central issue that concerns oil transportation in the Barents Sea.
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