MOSCOW, May 29 (RIA Novosti) -- Russia's license regulator will consider revoking a license to develop the Kovykta gas field in Eastern Siberia June 1, a source at the Natural Resources Ministry said Tuesday.
The natural resources minister said last Thursday his ministry has started a repeat check into the Kovykta field after Rusia Petroleum, a subsidiary of TNK-BP [RTS: TNBP], failed to correct previous license violations.
"None of the violations identified previously have been corrected, so the license is bound to be withdrawn at the June 1 session," he said, adding that it might be put up for auction or competitive bidding at the government's discretion.
Russian business daily Kommersant quoted industry analysts as saying that the fate of the license hinges on negotiations between TNK-BP and energy giant Gazprom, ongoing since last year.
"Should Gazprom become a Rusia Petroleum shareholder, the licensing problem will be fixed," MDM Bank analyst Nadezhda Kazakova said.
The status of negotiations between TNK-BP and Gazprom is unknown.
The Federal Agency for Subsoil Use said in early February that Rusia Petroleum could be stripped of its license for underproduction at the Kovykta field, which holds proven reserves of two 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.
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%).
