TNK-BP Allowed To Operate Further

The Russian Natural Resources Ministry decided not to revoke the license for the Kovykta gas field from the Russian-British joint venture TNK-BP.

The decision was made after a meeting between ministry officials and executive directors of the oil company Viktor Vekselberg and German Khan.

However, the head of the federal subsoil use agency said that the issue of license recall may arise again in 2006.

Under the conditions of the license agreement, TNK-BP is supposed to produce 9 billion cubic meters of gas from the Kovykta field, but the plans submitted by the company show that next year it will be able to produce only 900 million cubic meters of gas, while the projected production capacity of nine billion cubic meters won?t be reached until 2010.