Wiesbaden, 14 October: Russia has declared its intention to impose restrictions on the participation of foreign companies in some strategic sectors and projects affecting national security, the head of the Federation Council Committee on Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, Viktor Orlov, said in Wiesbaden on Sunday (14 October).

"In the area of national resources this will above all concern large and unique oil and gas fields and, apparently, large Russian raw materials companies," he said at the first conference of the Russian-German raw materials forum, which is being held as part of the Petersburg Dialogue public forum.

According to Orlov, the restrictions will affect the share of foreign companies' participation in projects, which will not exceed 49 per cent.

"In fact, that is the scheme used in the formation of the Gazprom-led consortium developing the Shtokman gas field on the Barents Sea shelf. The Sakhalin-2 project on the Sea of Okhotsk shelf has been transformed to fit a similar scheme. This scenario is envisaged when developing practically all offshore oil and gas fields," Orlov stressed.

He also said that somewhat different conditions would have to be met in the case of new projects concerning raw material production in Russia.

"There can be no return to the time of investment exclusively in raw materials and obsolete raw material production technologies," he stressed.

According to him, Russia is now interested in integrated investment projects using latest technologies and technical resources as well as those containing proposals for deep processing of raw materials and the creation of transport and other infrastructure.

"Large projects will be awarded through investment competitions, while small projects through auctions," the committee chairman said.