"The commission has found that there are no grounds for the issue of licenses for this set of fields on either the production sharing or usual taxation terms. This means that the fields can be tapped according to the generally recognized scheme on the auction basis in case a development-expediency decision has been taken," Khristenko explained.
He recalled that the Exxon-Mobil and Texaco companies won in the 1993 competition. But the then competition entailed no legal implications and none of them got the right to develop the fields, the vice-premier specified.
Asked by journalists, Khristenko said that Sakhalin-3 set of fields will only be auctioned when required by the program of their licensing.
As regards the expenses incurred by the companies in the competition held ten years ago, the vice-premier said that the sums will be checked and offered as a term for the auction participants.
According to the Exxon-Mobil Co., it spent about 80 million dollars in the 1993 competition.
