RusEnergy

16.02.2005 15:07 MSK MosNews - French oil giant Total said it may review its strategy in Russia after the Natural Resources Minister Yuri Trutnev announced that foreign-controlled companies will be blocked from bidding for new oil fields. Menno Grouvel, the head of Total's operations in Europe and Central Asia, told Russia's Izvestia daily on Wednesday, Feb. 16, that Total was still pursuing a $1 billion deal with independent gas producer Novatek, but other investment plans are likely to be reconsidered. As MosNews reported last week, Russia's Natural Resources Minister Trutnev said that the authorities plan to bar foreign owned firms from bidding for some of the country's most lucrative resources. Only the companies that are registered in Russia and have at least 51 percent Russian ownership will be allowed to participate in this year's license auctions. "Of course, we are willing to work through Russian partners - that is the best way of doing business in Russia nowadays. However, the ministry's position puts serious constraints on our activities," Grouvel told the paper. "We will discuss these new risks further, but it's clear that the minister's statement may force us to look again at our investment strategy in Russia," he said. Total, the world's No.4 oil firm, is one of the biggest foreign investors in Russia. As MosNews reported in September 2004, the French company bought a quarter of Russia's No.2 independent gas producer Novatek for $1 billion. The deal has been bogged down in a review by the Russian Anti-Monopoly Service, which says it wants Novatek to reorganise first, which is likely to take until mid-April. Still both sides expressed confidence that the deal will eventualy go through. In November 2004 Total announced its intention to invest $4.7 billion in exploration and development of the giant Vankor oil field in the central Siberian region of Krasnoyarsk. This decision may be now put under review by the French company's management.