Carrying out of expert examination of project documentation on geological exploration works for crude hydrocarbon is difficult in the absence of a separate (special) regulatory act that would establish the sequence of oil and gas geological exploration works in the Russian Federation related to the study of the oil-and-gasbearing capacity, geological study, assessment, exploration and development of oil and gas fields (deposits). The license (permission) regime for the use of subsoil is presently established in the Russian Federation, the project documentation on the geological exploration of subsoil is one of the mechanisms of the state licensing system. At the same time, it is obvious that in the conditions of the global crisis associated with the pandemic caused by the coronavirus infection, oil and gas companies are revising their geological exploration programs, reducing investments and postponing seismic investigations. However, the postponement does not always meet the requirements set in the license of a certain subsoil user, and therefore the assessment of the feasibility of postponing geological exploration and its criteria are of crucial importance for the rational use of subsoil. The author brings forward proposals for improving the legal regulation of relations arising in the process of geological exploration of subsoil for the purpose of geological study, assessment and exploration of oil and gas fields including in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation.