Russian gas monopoly Gazprom is close to a deal with Royal Dutch Shell to allow the state-owned natural gas giant to enter the Sakhalin-2 oil and gas venture, Gazprom board chairman Dmitry Medvedev said Tuesday.
"The deal's final format has not been reached, but both sides are close to a deal," Medvedev told reporters at a Moscow news conference.
Sakhalin-2 has come under fire from Russian ecological officials, who on Tuesday said it had caused a preliminary US$10 billion dollars in environmental damage.
(AFX, 12/12/2006)