Russia's Natural Resources Ministry has declared state-controlled oil producer Rosneft the winner in a recent auction covering a 27-year exploration and development licence for the West Irkinsky block in East Siberia's Krasnoyarsk region, writes Vladimir Afanasiev.
State subsurface agency Rosnedra said Rosneft was the only bidder and agreed to pay almost 403 million roubles ($6.3 million) for the licence.
Rosneft’s win was widely expected as Rosnedra had specifically tailored terms of the auction for the company, saying a bidder must possess a fleet of Russian-registered ice-class tankers capable of working in Arctic waters or demonstrate contracts to build such vessels at Russian yards.
