Oleg Mitvol, deputy head of the Natural Resources Supervision Service, says the commission is considering the situation at a number of fields owned by LUKOIL and Rosneft.
Photo: Nikolay Cyiganov
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Officials Threaten Rosneft, LUKOIL with Withdrawing Field Licenses
Russian authorities are considering stripping Rosneft of a license for developing its largest oil field, Vankor, a top environmental official said Thursday. A state commission is also examining several oil fields of LUKOIL in Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Area where violations have already been recorded. Industry experts believe that the companies will retain their licenses and note that officials are examining the Vankor field in an effort to force Rosneft to fill up a pipeline from Eastern Siberia to the Pacific Ocean.
A commission at the Federal Resource Management Agency which considers the withdrawal of licenses for developing oil fields is meeting for a session on Friday. Oleg Mitvol, deputy head of the Natural Resources Supervision Service which inspects oil fields, reported on Thursday that the commission is considering the situation at a number of fields owned by LUKOIL and Rosneft.
Natural resources officials have already discussed the situation at oil deposits that LUKOIL bought from Marathon Oil last year. LUKOIL's first vice-president Ravil Maganov assured last December that the company was doing its best to solve the problems.
In contrast, Rosneft’s Vankor field receives claims for the first time. Vankor is one of the largest oil fields in Russia with the proven reserves of 490 million metric tons. The state commission is also considering four plots adjacent to the field. Mr. Mitvol was unable to specify the claims but said that Rosneft would have three months to change the situation in any case. The official added that “the license is not likely to be withdrawn”.
The Vankor oil field is to become a key one for filling up the Eastern Siberia-the Pacific Ocean pipeline which will have been built in 2008.
Industry experts are convinced that both LUKOIL and Rosneft will retain their licenses for the fields in questions – especially in the view of faltering oil production in Russia.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Mar. 16, 2007
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