Russia's Natural Resources Minister Yuri Trutnev proposes easing laws restricting foreign participation in offshore energy projects and says state energy firms OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS) and OAO Rosneft (ROSN.RS) need foreign capital, the Vedomosti daily reports Thursday.
Russia's plans to develop vast hydrocarbon reserves located offshore in the country's Arctic region are going slowly, as projects demand huge investments.
"The amount of money the two companies [Rosneft and Gazprom] have been investing today in the development and exploration of offshore fields, isn't enough to develop them within any reasonable timeframe," Trutnev told Vedomosti in an interview.
He said the government should take charge of selecting foreign partners for offshore projects instead of letting Rosneft and Gazprom handle this.
Trutnev says the investment climate has changed since mid-2008, when oil prices hit record highs and Russia imposed restrictions on foreign access to its hydrocarbon reserves.
"The illusion that there is a lot of money available has disappeared," Trutnev said.
Previously, the government has accepted statements by Rosneft and Gazprom that they have no problems raising sufficient funds for developing the offshore in the shortest possible time, he added.
"Now it is quite obvious that this has failed," Trutnev said.
Russian companies have little experience developing offshore fields. Gazprom is developing the giant Shtokman gas condensate field in the Barents Sea in partnership with France's Total SA (TOT) and Norway's Statoil ASA (STA).