MOSCOW, July 27 (RIA Novosti) - Subsoil users should be involved in financing the development of oil and natural gas fields on the Russian continental shelf, Natural Resources Minister Yury Trutnev said Wednesday.
"Russia cannot develop the shelf without foreign investments," he said. "This is a global project that needs foreign investments and technologies."
However, he said, Russia should also be involved in the process and use its natural resources in its interest.
In February 2006, the Natural Resources Ministry is planning to have implemented a strategy on the research and development of the Russian continental shelf's oil and gas capacities until 2020.
The plan includes regional geological prospecting, subsoil use in the Arctic and Pacific seas and the scientific background of oil and gas exploration activities.
