19 LUKoil Licenses Are Under Threat

[CHIMO]

LUKoil on Friday became the latest oil major to face pressure from the government over purported environmental violations and development delays.

The company may lose 19 licenses in the northern Komi republic and Khanty-Mansiisk autonomous district, the Natural Resources Ministry's environmental regulator said.

Federal inspectors found LUKoil was behind schedule in prospecting for oil, drilling and starting production at 11 fields in Komi, said Oleg Mitvol, deputy head of the regulator, the Federal Service for the Inspection of Natural Resources Use.

LUKoil runs 406 fields in Russia and 17 fields abroad. United States-based ConocoPhillips owns almost 20 percent of the company.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2006/10/16/002.html