The Russian government is considering transferring the rights to the Far Eastern Chayanda gas field to OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS), the Interfax news agency said Tuesday, citing Vitaly Karaganov, a deputy departmental head at the Energy Ministry.
The ministry has submitted a draft proposal to the Natural Resources Ministry for approval, Karaganov said, adding that the approved draft could be submitted to the government in the next week or so.
The Chayanda gas field in Yakutia holds 50 million metric tons of C1 and C2 - Russian terms for proven and probable - oil reserves and 1.24 trillion cubic meters of C1 and C2 gas reserves.
The government has deemed Chayanda and another 30 major fields as strategically important to Russia, meaning the rights to develop them can be awarded without a tender.