Russia's Bashneft should receive a license for the strategic Trebs and Titov oil fields in the Nenets region of northern Russia next month, after which it will draw up development plans for the fields, which harbor more than 1 billion bbl of reserves. Sources close to the company tell Oil Daily that the license should be handed over no later than Jan. 17, once government approval is received. Bashneft will then have three months to define a development plan. Bashneft's owner, AFK Sistema, says the company is ready to develop the fields on its own, but is looking at all options. "Bashneft is interested in cooperation with Lukoil," Alexander Korsik, the head of Sistema's energy business unit, says. Bashneft wants to use Lukoil's infrastructure in the region, which includes a pipeline and the northern Varandey terminal. Sources say the fee Lukoil wants to charge for use of its infrastructure is similar to the costs Bashneft would incur if it used other options. But the alternatives are vague, and use of Lukoil's infrastructure would save time.
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