New underground resources law unveiled in Russia

摘要

Russia's underground resources law (URL),the country's primary vehicle for oil and gas upstream projects,has long been criticised by Russian and foreign oil companies and investors alike.It is considered vague,open to subjective interpretation from Russian bureaucrats and does not require sufficient transparency at auctions for natural resources licences.These complaints prompted promises from various high-ranking officials,including the Minister of Industry and Energy,Khristenko,and the Minister of Natural Resources,Trutnev,that the URL would be revised and these problems addressed.