The starting payment for the Trebs and Titov field will be 18.17 billion rubles, Gazeta.ru has reported.
Earlier, Russian officials could not decide on a price for the field; officials in the Natural Resources Ministry stated it should be around 17 billion rubles, while spokesmen for the Energy Ministry stated a price of 60 billion rubles. Earlier, officials in Rosnedra beliveed the lot could be sold for 5 billion rubles.
The Trebs and Titov field is listed in Russia as a strategic asset and is considered to be one of the biggest in the country. rosneft, Surgutneftegaz, Gazprom Neft, Bashneft, Zarubezhneft and LUKOIL have all expressed interest in developing the field. According to the influential Russian business daily Vedomosti, India's ONGC is also interested and has suggested setting up a consortium with Rosneft.
the tender itself will be held on December 2, but bids must be submitted by September 20.
The sum of 18.17 billion rubles is a record sum for Russia. Subsoil developers have never paid such a high price for an asset before.
the current record is held by Alisher Usmanov, who paid 15 billion rubles for the Udokanskoye copper deposit. the highest price ever paid in the oil sector was 7.47 billion rubles paid in 2007 by Rosneft for the East-Sugdinskoye block in Irkutsk Region.
