The article analyses elements in the Treaty between the Kingdom of Norway and the Russian Federation concerning Maritime Delimitation and Cooperation in the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean from 2010 related to determining the legal status of operator in case of unification of a transboundary hydrocarbon deposit. Russian and Norwegian legislation in this field is investigated. Features characteristic of the legal status of operator on the Norwegian and Russian continental shelf are identified. A special concept in the Tax Code of the Russian Federation - ‘operator of a new offshore field of hydrocarbon resources’ - is considered. It is pointed out that the status of operator of a transboundary hydrocarbon field needs serious legal study, considering Norwegian and Russian experience in this area, for cooperation in development of transboundary resources to be successful.