We’ve reported for quite some time now on the challenges facing Russia’s energy industry as new fields of natural gas and oil must be found and developed to replace more mature fields with declining productivity. This need is made even more acute and urgent by the government’s stated intent not only to maintain current production rates but to increase them. We’ve recently discussed about financial incentives the government is enacting or plans to enact to encourage new exploration and development. Recently, in an enormous oil field in the Barents Sea, Gazprom has indicated foreign energy companies will be encouraged to play a role in its development. This is another part in the strategy to develop Russia’s vast energy resources.