Russian Government Wants More Companies on Shelf

More companies should be engaged in exploration and production on the shelf, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin said.
Talking to journalists this week, Sechin criticized the Ministry of Natural Resources for not having issued more licenses to offshore fields
[…] In the course of the last two years, the Ministry of Natural Resources has issued five licenses, and then under pressure from government. Lets see them work better, Sechin remarked.
The Deputy PM confirmed that the government has proposed to speed up the issuing of offshore licenses. He sees no major problems from foreign companies interested in engaging in Russian shelf development, RBC.ru reports.
According to current legislation, only companies with more than five years experience in shelf development are entitled to get offshore field licenses. That leaves the exclusive right to shelf development to the two state-controlled companies Gazprom and Rosneft.
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