TNK-BP was Threatened to Lose Kovykta License

Russian-British joint venture, TNK-BP Holding, may lose its permit to develop the $18bn Kovykta gas field in Siberia because of licence and environmental violations, Russian prosecutors said.

Valery Pak, the head of TNK-BP unit Russia Petroleum, was summoned to the Prosecutor General?s Office and ?officially warned?? his company must fix the problems or face losing its license in the Irkutsk region, according to a statement yesterday posted on the prosecutor?s website.

TNK-BP, ExxonMobil Corp, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Total SA face demands from Russia to cede some control of oil and gas fields to state-aligned companies, Gazprom and Rosneft.

?There is a wave of accusations right now from officials, but it?s unlikely that the Kovykta license will be revoked,?? Ivan Mazalov, who helps manage about $2.5bn at Prosperity Capital Management, said in a phone interview from Moscow.

?We are developing the project in accordance with the license terms,?? Alexander Shadrin, a spokesman for TNK-BP, said yesterday by phone from Moscow.

Gazprom, which controls Russia?s gas pipelines, opposed TNK-BP?s plans to break its monopoly by supplying fuel directly to China or South Korea from Kovykta, which holds 2tn cu m of gas, enough to power Asia for about six years.