Russian authorities have stepped up pressure on British-Russian oil venture TNK-BP, as the Natural Resources Ministry said it was launching checks into whether the company was fulfilling terms of use on Kovykta gas field, one of its biggest assets.

Oleg Mitvol, the Ministry’s deputy-head, said that documents would be submitted by the end of January with a full check launched “possibly in February or March”.

Russian analysts point out that if Natural Ministry’s checks discover violations at Kovykta gas field, the British-Russian venture will have several months to negotiate agreement with Gazprom, so that the gas giant joins in the development of Kovykta’s gas reserves.

If Gazprom gets a stake in the project, all of the checks are likely to stop, just like it happened with Sakhalin-2.

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