Naftogaz targets Russian properties in Oslo after Svalbard move

The Barents Observer reported on 22 October, in an article Arctic Today also carried, that Oslo tingrett (Oslo District Court) has allowed Ukraine's state-owned energy company Naftogaz to seize five Russian-owned properties. It said VG listed an apartment building in Frogner, three flats in western Oslo and one flat in Sinsen.

NRK said in an NTB report of 20 October that the company's lawyers put the total claim at 57 billion Norwegian kroner, with interest and costs. NRK said a seizure is the first step toward a possible forced sale. The Barents Observer said Naftogaz is enforcing an arbitral award after the loss of its Crimea assets in 2014.

The Barents Observer said VG had reported seizures of 62 snowmobiles, 15 cars and four bank accounts. It counted the snowmobiles and cars among Russian assets on Svalbard. It said Dagens Næringsliv had reported earlier that Russki Dom in Longyearbyen was seized. The building is used by the travel agency Grumant, which belongs to Trust Arktikugol (Russia's state-owned company on Svalbard). Sysselmesteren (the Governor of Svalbard) rejected the Barents Observer's request for information about other assets. Justis- og beredskapsdepartementet (the Ministry of Justice and Public Security) has not answered its questions, it said.

The Barents Observer said the seizures led the Norwegian government to speed up a special regulation in mid-September. The ministry adopted it on 18 September. It limits seizure of assets in or on the way to Svalbard's local communities when they are needed to keep those communities running. The ministry said supply lines to some communities on Svalbard are more exposed than on the mainland.

The ship Professor Molchanov belongs to the Russian state and has sailed between Murmansk and Barentsburg this summer. The Governor's release of 2 September said it seized the ship in Barentsburg that day, on the order of the district court, which ruled on 31 August. The Barents Observer said the seizure drew strong protests in Moscow. Nord-Troms og Senja tingrett (Nord-Troms and Senja District Court) heard lawyers for Trust Arktikugol and Naftogaz on 19 October, NRK reported. The Barents Observer said on 22 October that a ruling was expected within days.

The Barents Observer said the Russian Embassy in Oslo and Arktikugol have given the ship a role in supplying Barentsburg. It said the ship has not played a significant role, and that other cargo vessels bring food, fuel and machinery.

Arnt Angell, lawyer for Trust Arktikugol, told the court the trust and the people of Barentsburg and Pyramiden are hit financially by the arrest. He said the alternative supply lines are expensive and limited, also because of the geopolitical situation, NRK reported.

As background, the Barents Observer said Naftogaz has won similar seizure rulings in Finland, France and Austria, and that Russia contests them. They rest on a 2023 award in The Hague. Reuters reported that the award was $4.22 billion plus interest and legal costs, and that Russia has said it does not recognise the court's jurisdiction. NRK reported on 10 September that Russia has brought a case to have the award declared invalid, which has not been finally decided.

Correction, 27 October 2026: an earlier version dated the Arctic Today report 23 October and placed four seized bank accounts on Svalbard. The report is dated 22 October, and the Barents Observer placed only the snowmobiles and cars on Svalbard.

Coverage: Arctic Today, The Barents Observer, NRK, Arctic Today (Reuters)