MOSCOW, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- Demarcation of disputed waters in the Caspian Sea should not overshadow the need to push for offshore development, the Russian president said in Moscow.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told the chief executives of Russian energy companies, including giants Gazprom and LUKoil, that offshore oil production in the Russian waters of the Caspian Sea could boost the regional economy, the Moscow Times reports.
"Think about achieving these goals," he told the executives.
LUKoil executives said they could move on the Yuri Korchagin oil field in the Caspian Sea along with other developments with Gazprom as early as 2010.
Medvedev cautioned, however, that it was imperative that the five littoral countries to the Caspian Sea move quickly to define the territorial boundaries.
The Caspian Sea's littoral states are at odds over a 1921 treaty that divided the region between Iran and the Soviet Union.
For his part, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov earlier this month had ordered a national investigation to examine Azeri claims in the Caspian Sea.
Berdimuhamedov claims Baku started developments at oil and gas fields and plans to explore additional deposits in disputed waters.
