Norway announced plans last Friday to open a new zone for oil and gas activity in the Barents Sea, part of a deal struck by Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and coalition partners to give the oil industry greater access to environmentally sensitive areas. Stoltenberg said that he was looking to grant access within "an environmentally safe framework." The government will conduct an impact assessment, the first step toward opening up the area to drilling, after Russian authorities ratify the sea boundary. The government also announced that it would not open up drilling in the waters off the Lofoten archipelago in the Norwegian Sea until this parliamentary term ends in 2013, a move Oil Industry Association head Gro Braekken said left the industry "dissatisfied." Environmental and fishing groups praised the decision, saying the fish-rich regions need protection from oil activities. Meanwhile, all four wells drilled in the Barents and Norwegian seas this year have failed to find oil or gas, adding to a record dry spell for the world's second-largest gas exporter. For the full story on drilling in the Barents, see http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/11/us-norway-arctic-idUSTRE72A1OH20110311. For the story on Lofoten, see http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/11/us-norway-drilling-idUSTRE72A2NJ20110311. For the story on the dry spell, see http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-03/norway-drillers-hit-worst-dry-spell-in-decades-as-reserves-wane.html.