Only permitting state companies to produce offshore hinders oil development - Putin
MOSCOW. Feb 29 (Interfax) - Granting oil companies with state participation the exclusive right to offshore work hinders the development of oil production, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said during a Wednesday meeting with representatives of the All-Russian People's Front.
"We have a decision that companies in which the government holds a controlling stake can work on the shelf of the northern seas. In my view, that is even today hindering the development of production a bit," he said.
"We must think of what more we need to do in this area to expand such possibilities," Putin said.
The Russian government tries to support enterprises that have been working for many years and already have low possibilities (for production), as well as enterprises that work with sulfurous oil. "The relevant decisions on this issue have been made," Putin said.
Under the law 'On subsoil' in its current form, only Russian state-owned companies with five years of experience in developing the Russian shelf have the right to develop such sections. Two such companies have this exclusive right: Rosneft and Gazprom . These companies' subsidiaries, and even 100% state-owned Zarubhezneft, do not have the right for this type of work. Private Russian companies have repeatedly appealed to the government to liberalize access to the shelf.
About a year ago, the Natural Resources Ministry prepared amendments aimed at considering not only Russian, but also foreign experience in shelf work, which would allow such state-owned companies as Zarubezhneft and Gazprom International to operate in Russia's waters. However, these amendments were never adopted.