12-09-08 The Russian government will introduce a reward for the foreign companies finding new Russian strategic natural resource fields.
The Ministry of Natural Resources intends to help stimulate foreign companies' interest in mineral exploration in Russia.

According to Russian legislation, foreign companies are now allowed to own only 49 % of a strategic mineral field, and then only with the approval of government.
All oil fields bigger than 70 mm tons of reserves, gas fields bigger than 50 bn cm, all shelf fields, as well as all mineral fields with uranium, diamonds, nickel and cobalt are categorized as "strategic".

The stricter regulations on mineral production introduced over the last couple of years, have made a number of foreign investors get more cautious about going into Russia. Now, Minister of Natural Resources Yuri Trutnev intends to give the foreign companies operating in Russia a bonus.
He proposes that foreign companies, which find new strategic fields in Russia get returnednot only 100 % of their expenses, but an additional 50 % of the money invested, or 50 % of the price for the license sold to the Russian operator.