E.ON Ruhrgas AG Tuesday said it is optimistic it can strike a deal with Russian natural gas monopoly OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS) over an asset swap that would grant the German company access to one of the world's largest gas fields.
Talks with Gazprom over the Yuzhno Russkoye gas field have been halted in August for summer holidays, Jochen Weise, Ruhrgas board member and head of procurement, told reporters at a press conference in Essen.
However, both companies remain keen to conclude the negotiations in the "foreseeable future," Weise added.
Ruhrgas, a unit of German utility E.ON AG (EOA.XE), has been in talks over the Yuzhno Russkoye gas field for more than four years.
Both, E.ON and Gazprom, have described the talks as difficult in light of the sharp rise in crude oil prices, complicating the valuation of the assets.