RusEnergy

27 July 2007 - Upstream OnLine - Houston-based Transmeridian Exploration has received no official notification from Russian authorities of environmental violations at its 50%-owned Gasha field in Dagestan, it said today. The company was responding to statements today by Russia’s environmental watchdog today that it was seeking to withdraw Transmeridian’s licence to operate the field due to breaches of environmental regulations. The Rosprirodnadzor agency said a recent check of Transmeridian's unit DNK, developing the Gasha field in the southern region of Dagestan, had found "serious violations of the licensing agreement". The agency said Transmeridian had failed to get proper approvals for the project and had failed to maintain abandoned wells on the field. It also said the company had failed to provide documents showing it had paid taxes on time. Transmeridian said it had undertaken a preliminary study of environmental damage at the field caused by previously development work at the field under Soviet rule between 1950 and 1975. It said it had handed authorities a plan to remediate the existing damage and to manage future contamination in terms of the licence. The company said it was in the early stages of evaluation at the field. It said it had booked no reserves at the field, which is not producing.