The Ministry of Natural Resources intends to help stimulate foreign companies’ interest in mineral exploration in Russia. According to Russian legislation, foreign companies are now allowed to own only 49 percent of a strategic mineral field, and then only with the approval of government. All oil fields bigger than 70 million tons of reserves, gas fields bigger than 50 billion cubic meters, all shelf fields, as well as all mineral fields with uranium, diamonds, nickel and cobalt are categorized as “strategic”. The stricter regulations on mineral production introduced over the last couple of years, have made a number of foreign investors get more cautious about going into Russia. Now, Minister of Natural Resources Yuri Trutnev intends to give the foreign companies operating in Russia a bonus. He proposes that foreign companies, which find new strategic fields in Russia get returned not only 100 percent of their expenses, but an additional 50 percent of the money invested, or 50 percent of the price for the license sold to the Russian operator.
