25 May 2004 12:19
PROSECUTOR CHARGES SARATOVNEFTEGAZ DIRECTOR
NIZHNY NOVGOROD. May 25 (Interfax) - The Saratov city prosecutor's office pressed charges against Stanislav
Tyurev, general director of Sidanco subsidiary Saratovneftegaz, on Monday.
A source in the city's Prosecutor's Office told Interfax that Tyurev has been charged under Article 171
Chapter 2 of the Criminal Code for illegal business practice, Article 255 for violating rules for environmental
protection and the use of subsurface resources, and Article 201 Chapter 2 for abuse of office.
The source said that Tyurev was in the Prosecutor's Office on Monday, but refused to give a statement, availing
of his constitutional right not to incriminate himself. He was released on bail of 1 million rubles.
The case was opened against Morozov on May 13.
Alexander Kosyak, former general of Saratovneftegaz, was arrested on charges of illegal business practices on May 19.
Kosyak headed the company from 2000 to 2002.
The prosecutor's office said Saratovneftegaz had been producing oil at four deposits in the Saratov region
without licenses since 2000. It claims the unlicensed oil production cost the state more than 160 million rubles.
The Saratov prosecutor in January this year opened a criminal case for violations of mineral licensing legislation
allegedly committed by senior officials of the region's Main Natural Resources and Environmental Protection
Directorate.
TNK-BP has said the fields in question, which are Alekseyevskoye, Osinovskoye, Gorchakovskoye and Splavnukhinskoye,
were discovered on the basis of exploration licenses and that the company had been developing them since the 1990s. It
said Saratovneftegaz had done all that was necessary to obtain production licenses, but that the Russian Natural
Resources Ministry had not resolved these issues.
Now, according to TNK-BP, the resources ministry had decided to auction the licenses to the four fields and had
agreed the auction terms with the Saratov region's government.
"Saratovneftegaz will bid at the auctions when their dates are known," TNK-BP said.
Until the auctions are held the Natural Resources Ministry has issued short-term licenses to the properties entitling
their holder to carry out all necessary works on a temporary basis.
Saratovneftegaz is the Saratov region's main oil producer. It had estimated oil and condensate reserves of
31.744 million tonnes and gas reserves of 33.9 billion cubic meters (bcm) at the start of this year.
[Interfax] |
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