MOSCOW, December 24 (RIA Novosti) - Companies in which foreign investors hold a controlling stake could gain access to Russian deposits of national importance, Natural Resources Minister Yury Trutnev said on Monday.
"If before foreigners were not allowed to participate in strategic field auctions, now the mechanism of access has substantially eased," Trutnev told reporters. "They will now have a chance to access strategic fields by applying for permission from a government commission."
Trutnev said such a mechanism was envisioned by amendments pending to the law On Subsoil Resources. He said he could not provide a timeline for the amendments.
Russia has already named 'strategic fields' in several areas. These can only be distributed to Russian majority-owned companies, and include 31 gas fields.
