RusEnergy

15 June 2009 - Bloomberg - LONDON. The government will keep foreign investment in the oil and gas industry at 25 percent of the total to help Russian companies operate profitably, the head of BP said. "Russia believes that's about the right amount, and I don't expect it to change," CEO Tony Hayward told reporters Wednesday. "Russia has got three or four major enterprises, which continue to participate sensibly in their oil and gas sector." BP's largest investment in the country is in TNK-BP, a joint venture with Russian billionaires that accounts for about a quarter of its total production and reserves. It is also cooperating with Rosneft to search for oil and gas in Russia's Far East and in the Arctic, according to BP's web site. Royal Dutch Shell, ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and BP are the biggest foreign investors in Russia's fuel industry. Earlier this month, Hayward urged the nation's government to drop barriers to foreign investment at a time when "capital is in short supply." The global credit crisis and tumbling oil prices have forced some producers to cut spending plans. StatoilHydro of Norway and France's Total have gained access to Russian projects by forging partnerships with Gazprom. The group plans to develop the Arctic Shtokman field, which has enough gas to meet world demand for more than a year.