To attract foreign investment into oil and gas exploration and production, the State Geology Service is doubling the number of blocks prepared for electronic auction by June.

To attract foreign investment into oil and gas exploration and production, the State Geology Service is doubling the number of blocks prepared for electronic auction by June. “More than 30 oil and gas sites” are to be auctioned, Oleg Kirilyuk, head of the service, told the Cabinet of Ministers on Wednesday. The current schedule for auctions is: March 6 — 10 fields; April 29 –7 fields. The Geology Service says these 17 sites have ‘projected resources’ of 92 billion cubic meters of gas and 16 million tons of oil.