Regulations relating to seabed minerals now stipulated

The Regulations have their legal basis in the Seabed Minerals Act and the Seabed Minerals Regulations, the latter of which was adopted by the King in Council on 29 August and entered into force on 1 September 2025. The Regulations govern exploration activity related to seabed minerals on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). Potential further requirements as regards exploitation will be stipulated at a later date.

The regulations are currently only available in Norwegian, but will be translated into English shortly:

• Forskrift om datainnsamling og dokumentasjon i mineralvirksomhet på kontinentalsokkelen (forskrift om datainnsamling for havbunnsmineraler)
• Forskrift til havbunnsmineralloven (havbunnsmineralforskriften)

The Regulations bear a number of similarities to the content and structure of the Resource Management Regulations for petroleum activities and the Regulations relating to documentation in connection with storage of CO2 on the continental shelf. Among other things, the Regulations establish the following requirements for licensees:

• safeguarding consideration for other users of the sea, 
• collection of data and samples, 
• reporting data and submitting samples to the Norwegian Offshore Directorate,
• use of methods and equipment for surveys. 

The requirements relate to data and samples that map both resource and environmental conditions related to the mineral activity.

The regulations for data collection and documentation in mineral activities on the continental shelf were put forth for consultation from 5 February to 30 April 2025. A total of 42 consultation statements were received. The Norwegian Offshore Directorate has made a few adjustments following the consultation process, but the material changes are considered to be relatively minor. 

The Norwegian Offshore Directorate will prepare guidelines that will list and specify how the requirements in the Regulations can be fulfilled.

More about seabed minerals