The owner of JSC Energy Corporation, former Minister of Energy of Russia Igor Yusufov spoke in favor of liberalizing exploration work on the shelf. about this with reference to Yusufov’s letters to the head of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Dmitry Kobylkin. writes Kommersant

The ex-official asks to provide the Yamal Shelf Company with several areas in the Gulf of Ob for geological study. Among them are Ust-Ob sites 1, 2, 3, Yuzhno-Parusny 2, Bukharinsky 2. In a June letter, Yusufov notes that these areas are in close proximity to the sites of the Energy Corporation, and writes about synergy and prospects for attracting significant investments in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. Thus, one of the adjacent Ust-Ob areas 1, 2, 3 is adjacent to Yusufov’s only major asset - the Yarudeyskoye field.

The appendix to Energia's letter provides estimates of the costs of drilling wells: in the Baltic - $20-30 million, in the Kara Sea - $700 million. The company proposes to allow private players to the shelf to search for technology partners and attract financing without reference to “budget restrictions” .

According to the law on subsoil, only state-owned companies can conduct exploration and production on the shelf. Only the private Novatek has licenses in the Gulf of Ob, which received them specifically for LNG projects. With regard to transit areas located within the 12-mile zone of Russian territorial waters, the law is not completely clear.

Until now, attempts by private owners to enter the shelf have been unsuccessful. In 2016, Lukoil tried to obtain the Nadezhda site, which was entirely within the 12-mile zone. However, state-owned companies perceived this request as an attack on their position. As a result, as the publication notes, the FAS considered that Lukoil’s proposal was contrary to competition rules.

In 2017, the State Duma in the first reading adopted amendments developed by the Ministry of Natural Resources, allowing private owners to carry out geological work with the possibility of subsequent production. The draft is now being prepared for the second reading. The Ministry of Natural Resources clarified that the issue of licenses for transit sections will become relevant after the adoption of the amendments.

Kommersant learned about the ex-minister’s plans to provide private access to the shelf