LONDON (Reuters) – BP said on Tuesday its Russian joint venture TNK-BP will appeal against a decision by a Russian court in a bid to keep the licence for the giant Kovykta gas field.
A judge in a court in Irkutsk, the region in East Siberia where the field is located, said on Monday he had decided to throw out an appeal by TNK-BP , which was seeking to stop the authorities taking away the licence.
“What TNK-BP is saying is we regret the court’s negative decision and the current pressure to withdraw the licence,” said Sheila Williams, a BP spokeswoman.
“We are confident of the legal merits of the case and intend to appeal and contest this court’s decision.”
The battle for the $20 billion (10 billion pound) field follows state pressure on Royal Dutch Shell’s Sakhalin-2 project last year and some analysts see it as part of a Kremlin move to consolidate major energy resources under state control.
Monday’s court ruling opened the way for Rosnedra, Russia’s licences regulator, to meet on Friday to discuss the early withdrawal of the field’s licence.
The decision came as Russia’s environmental agency, RosPrirodNadzor, finished a final inspection of Kovykta on Monday and reiterated its accusation of underproduction.
Kovykta is one of the largest gas fields in Russia, the world’s top producer. The field holds reserves of around 2 trillion cubic metres of gas and large amounts of gas condensate.
TNK-BP had hoped to use Kovykta for gas exports to China but says it has been forced to underproduce because Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom refuses to let it do so.
The operator of the roughly $20 billion project is Rusia Petroleum, which is around 63 percent owned by TNK-BP. London-based BP owns half of TNK-BP.
(c) Reuters 2007. All rights reserved.
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Last updated: 29-May-07 12:55 BST
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Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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