Exploration spending on Russia’s Arctic shelf is to remain low into 2019 after crashing by 90% over the past three years, says independent analyst Rystad Energy.

Capital expenditures (capex) on offshore exploration were pushed off the cliff by sanctions, deflation and low oil prices, Rystad adds.

Spending fell from $1.8bn in 2014 to $170m the following year, while it inched back up to just more than $400m by 2017.