Russia's gas giant Gazprom sees no reason in developing the giant Kovykta gas field in the Siberian region of Irkutsk, Gazprom head Alexei Miller said on Wednesday.
"There is no need to develop Kovykta in the foreseeable future. The foreseeable future is 2018," Miller told journalists.
The license to develop Kovykta belongs to TNK-BP-controlled Rusia Petroleum, which was declared bankrupt earlier this week since it had failed to adhere to the terms of the license agreement, under which it should produce nine billion cubic meters of gas annually.
The company planned to sell Kovykta gas abroad, where prices are higher than in Russia, but all export pipelines belong to Gazprom which decides whether to allow other companies to use them or not.
IRKUTSK, Russia, October 20 (RIA Novosti)
