Russian Natural Resources Minister Sergei Donskoy formally presented to a United Nations commission on February 9 his country’s claim to Arctic Ocean seabed.
Russia submitted an application to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf last August, claiming that the Lomonosov Ridge and other parts of the Arctic seabed belong to Russia's continental shelf.
If the committee accepts the claim, the seabed under the North Pole would be subject to Moscow’s oversight for activities such as oil drilling.
The commission had rejected on technical grounds an earlier application submitted by Russia in 2002.
Canada, Norway, and Denmark have also filed claims.
As much as 30 percent of unexplored global reserves of natural gas and 15 percent of unexplored oil reserves are estimated to lie in the Arctic's underwater fields.