Russia has begun a push to claim a vast chunk of disputed Arctic territory in an aggressive campaign to win control of the region's oil and gas resources.

A state-sponsored expedition, led by a Moscow geographical institute, is in the region gathering scientific data in an attempt to prove that vast swathes of the seabed belong to Russia.

In a heavily symbolic gesture, the Russian navy sent vessels from its Northern Fleet, based at Severomorsk, into the Arctic last month for the first time since 1991. An anti-submarine destroyer and the missile cruiser the Marshal Ustinov are now patrolling the area. Moscow claims the ships are there to protect its fishermen, but analysts believe they are Russia’s “foot in the door” in this energy-rich region.

The scientists, who are also studying the effects of global warming, have in addition been asked to survey the region’s geological make-up to assess the feasibility of drilling. They are expected to spend several months in the region. A second state-sponsored expedition leaves for the Arctic later this month.

The expeditions are being launched as Dmitri Medvedev, Russia’s new president, signed a law setting out how the country’s underwater Arctic resources will be tapped. It empowers the government to hand pick companies to extract oil and gas on the continental shelf, which Medvedev declared was “our national heritage”.

“The Arctic used to be of interest only to a few scientists. Now it’s become a national priority,” said a Kremlin insider. “The state is taking a very keen interest, pouring in resources. It’s too rich a region for us to forget about. The race is on and we have a head start.”

It is estimated that up to a quarter of the world’s undiscovered oil and gas reserves could be hidden in the Arctic. The high price of oil and fears of shortages have sparked a new Arctic “oil fever”. Dubbed the “battle for the North pole”, the race has raised environmental concerns and accusations of a Russian land grab.

A United Nations convention dictates that countries bordering the Arctic Ocean — Russia, the United States, Canada, Denmark and Norway — can exploit resources within 200 nautical miles (about 230 miles) of their land. This can be extended if a country can prove the undersea continental shelf is connected to its territory.

The expeditions intend to collect data to prepare a claim that Russia will lodge with the UN next year, arguing that an area the size of western Europe is part of its territory. The samples being collected,

Moscow believes, will prove that the Lomonosov ridge beneath the Arctic Ocean is an extension of the Siberian continental shelf.

The claim is disputed by Canada and Denmark, which believe the ridge is connected to their territory.

The Russians sent an expedition to the region last year during which they planted a titanium flag on the seabed beneath the North pole, which they reached with a mini submarine. The stunt was hailed by the Kremlin but gathered little scientific data.

“From a scientific point of view the flag-planting expedition was of little interest,” said Viktor Poselov of the All-

Russian Research Institute for Geology and Mineral Resources of the World, which will send yet another expedition to the region next year. “The other expeditions are less high profile, but as far as the science goes they are the real thing. ”

Russia already controls the world’s largest reserves of natural gas. There is growing concern that unless Moscow’s claims in the Arctic are challenged, the West, which is heavily reliant on Siberian gas, could become dangerously dependent on Russian energy.

“For a long time Russia had neither the money nor the will to care about the Arctic. That’s changed radically,” said Nikolai Petrov, a political analyst.

“It’s a matter of prestige and power. It’s of geopolitical importance — to lay a claim to a region in a way which symbolises Russia’s resurgence as an international power. It’s not just about resources, it’s about Russia’s image.”

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