Sakhalin Island currently is the oil and gas growth engine for Russia, which will rely on offshore regions for new production after 2010, the Oil & Gas Journal reported. By 2020, offshore fields could account for 20% of Russia's total oil and gas output. However, Russia must implement regulations and taxes before its offshore oil and gas assets can be developed since offshore royalty issues remain largely unaddressed. The Russian Duma is working on the Mineral Extraction Law and on a new subsoil law. The Russian government's anticipated shift to holding auctions for oil and gas blocks instead of tenders now appears unlikely. International oil and gas companies operating in Russia probably will be prevented from taking more than 49% interest in offshore fields.
