Director of the Russian Federal Subsoil Management Agency Anatoly Ledovskikh talks to staff of the Kommersant Publishing House.
Photo: Alexey Kudenko
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TNK-BP Unable to Eliminate License Violations
TNK-BP won’t be able to eliminate the license violations for Kovykta development and no amendments will be added to the license, Interfax reported referring to Federal Agency for Subsoil Use (Rosnedra).
Subsoil operator of Kovykta gas condensate field, RUSIA Petroleum won’t eliminate violations of license agreement related to Kovykta field of gas condensate, said Rosnedra chief Anatoly Ledovskikh at the news conference Tuesday.
“RUSIA Petroleum won’t execute our terms at 100 percent and won’t be able to produce 9 billion cu meters of gas from Kovykta,” Ledovskikh said. According to the official, the license agreement on Kovykta couldn’t be amended now, as the inspection was properly held and the company had time to clear up troubles.
Asked whether the situation with Kovykta will improve after the change of the owner, Ledovskikh said that “Rosnedra will have to agree on with a new owner of the field. The license will be amended, perhaps, in part of production size, for instance.” But Ledovskikh ignored the question about Rosnedra’s unwillingness to come to terms with today’s license holder.
Under the license, RUSIA Petroleum is to supply 9 billion cu meters of gas to Irkutsk Region starting from 2006. The license was granted more than ten years ago and the gas consumption of the region was forecasted at that time as well.
The region doesn’t need so much gas today, RUSIA Petroleum claims, pointing out it is ready to start production and deliveries.
Roughly a year ago, TNK-BP drafted amendments to license agreement, but Rosnedra hasn’t passed them so far.
When it comes to Kovykta, the last resort of TNK-BP is clinching a deal with Russia’s gas monopoly, Gazprom, by the middle of this year. As a result of the deal, Gazprom will enter into the Kovykta project, while TNK-BP will retain some sizeable ownership in it.
Kovykta field of gas condensate is located in Irkutsk Region. Its reserves are estimated at 1.9 trillion cu meters of gas. The key holders of RUSIA Petroleum are TNK-BP (62.4 percent), Interros (25.8 percent) and Irkutsk Region (11.2 percent).
www.kommersant.com
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