Lukoil expecting documents about access to shelf of private oil cos in autumn
MOSCOW. May 29 (Interfax) - Lukoil is expecting that in the autumn the changes to legislation will be drafted, which will allow private companies to work on the Russian shelf, Lukoil President Vagit Alekperov said during an interview on Rossiya 24 television channel.
He said that the work of the Natural Resources Ministry, Energy Ministry, statements of deputy prime ministers say that relevant materials are being prepared.
"I hope that in the autumn it [the bill] will be presented. And the government will present it to the presidential administration," he said.
"Lukoil is a Russian national company: our influence on the social life in the regions is enormous, our impact on the forming of the budget is enormous. Plus to all the licenses that are given by the state for the right to explore and develop, which is controlled by the state, prescribe the entire responsibility of the investor. Therefore I think that national security will not be harmed in any case if Lukoil carries out geological exploration, and in the future, the development of fields located on the shelf," Alekperov said.
"We think that in the near future this issue will be discussed and it will find its own resolution, because it is illogical today to not make a positive decision," he said.
"Why are we trying to enter the Arctic? Because the tax base today is formed, understandable and predictable," he said.
