Russia will not revise three production-sharing agreements it signed with foreign energy giants Total SA, ExxonMobil Corp and Royal Dutch Shell, the country's energy minister said, attempting to reassure rattled investors.
"We approach these agreements as the existing obligations of Russia and the existing obligations of investors," said Energy and Industry Minister Viktor Khristenko.
"The idea that everything that's happening is a revision of the agreements has no basis," he told a Moscow news conference.
The three production sharing agreements (PSAs) involve an oil field being developed by Total in Siberia, as well as two oil and gas projects led by ExxonMobil and Shell on the island of Sakhalin in Russia's far east.
The three deals were all signed with the Russian state during the 1990s.
"If I had to sign the agreements today, I wouldn't do it but if there are signatures, obligations, they have to be fulfilled," Khristenko added.
Russian authorities have ratcheted up the pressure on all three projects in recent weeks, with sweeping checks and official comments criticising the terms of the agreements.
Production-sharing agreements generally offer investors favourable tax conditions and a stable legal environment, while governments do not have to spend capital to develop expensive projects.
(AFX)