MOSCOW, June 13 - RAPSI. Bashneft-Polyus has filed a lawsuit in the Moscow Commercial Court against the Federal Agency for Mineral Resources to quash its withdrawal of the license for the Trebs and Titov oil field, according to court records.
The lawsuit has been accepted and the preliminary hearing will be held on June 28.
The agency revoked the license on May 18 and, at the end of the month, LUKOIL stated its intent to challenge the revocation in court. It was later reported that both companies sent a letter to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, asking him to reinstate Bashneft-Polyus' right to develop the field.
The Trebs and Titov oil fields in the Timan-Pechora Basin in Nenets Autonomous District are considered to be highly prospective. Their C1 reserves are estimated at 78.9 million and 63.4 million tonnes of oil respectively. Bashneft won the tender by offering 18.476 billion rubles ($567 million), with the starting price being 18.171 billion ruble ($557 million).
Bashneft and LUKoil jointly set up Bashneft-Polyus to explore and develop the Trebs and Titov deposits.