Natural Resources Ministry submits program to stimulate exploration of shelf
MOSCOW. Sept 15 (Interfax) - The Russian Natural Resources and Ecology Ministry has submitted to the government its program of comprehensive measures to stimulate geological exploration of the shelf by private sector companies, the ministry said in a statement.
The measures aim to reduce the risk to license holders due to the lack of geological data and the low level of confidence in resource estimates at the fields, as well as further lowering bureaucratic barriers to receiving permission to develop deposits.
The program also provides measures to stimulate company operations, including subsidized interest rates on loans and leasing contracts for resource users that are financing their own geological exploration operations. It would also defer one-time payments for rights to a deposit until such time as resources are discovered there.