MOSCOW, August 20 (RAPSI) - Lukoil West Siberia will join the Federal Agency for Mineral Resources (Rosnedra) in a dispute with Rosneft regarding a tender on the right to manage the natural resources in the Vostochno-Taimyrskoye oil and gas field, according to a statement published by Lukoil.

By participating in the tender, Rosneft agreed to the agency’s conditions. Rosneft presented its requirements and objections only after the tender commission announced the winner, Lukoil West Siberia.

“Acting under the assumption that Rosnedra didn’t violate the law when determining the tender rules and holding the tender, Lukoil West Siberia filed a motion with the Moscow Commercial Court on August 19 to join the suit as a third party with Rosnedra,” the oil company stated.

On August 11, Lukoil won a tender to obtain a license for part of the Vostochno-Taimyrskoye oil and gas field near the Laptev Sea in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The oil company proposed paying 2 billion rubles ($29.8 mln) for the license.

Rosneft filed a lawsuit against Rosnedra’s decision in a commercial court. The court will hear the claim on September 14. Rosneft claims the agency breached the tender rules when determining a winner. They are suing to have the tender results be declared null and void.

The Vostochno-Taimyrskoye oil and gas field is near the Taymyr Dolgano-Nenets municipal district in the Krasnoyarsk Territory by the mouth of the Khatanga River. Last spring, Rosnedra decided to divide the area into two sections, the onshore and the offshore. This gave Lukoil an opportunity to claim the onshore section because only Gazprom and Rosneft are allowed to develop the continental shelf by law. If granted, the license will be valid for 27 years.