"The work began on schedule," Yury Trutnev said.
He said Tuesday his ministry would hold a repeat check into the Kovykta field after Rusia Petroleum, a subsidiary of TNK-BP [RTS: TNBP], failed to correct previous license violations.
"We have not changed our plans and everything will be done as required," Yury Trutnev said.
Russia's Federal Agency for Subsoil Use (Rosnedra) said in early February that Rusia Petroleum could be stripped of its license for underproduction at the Kovykta field, which holds proven reserves of 2 trillion cubic meters of natural gas, and set a deadline of May 23 for the company to rectify the situation.
However, Rusia Petroleum challenged the regulator's decision at the arbitration tribunal in Irkutsk in Eastern Siberia, which ruled to suspend the regulator's measures against the project operator pending a court hearing.
Trutnev said previously the process of license revocation would continue, and that a different agency would hold a repeat check of the Kovykta deposit.
Rusia Petroleum is owned by Russian-British joint venture TNK-BP (64.4%); the holding company for nickel giant Norilsk Nickel, Interros (25.82%); and the Irkutsk regional administration (11.24%).
