MOSCOW, March 18 (RIA Novosti) – Russian energy giant Gazprom is seeking access to oil and gas deposits in the territorial waters of Crimea, which became Russian territory on Tuesday.
“Gazprom was the first to file its request,” Rustam Temirgaliyev, the region’s first deputy prime minister, said in an interview with RIA Novosti.
The Crimean parliament, which refused to recognize the new Ukrainian government and held a popular vote on secession and reunification with Russia on Sunday, ruled on Monday that all Ukrainian state property in the region is to become the property of Crimea.
Crimean leaders signed a reunification treaty with Russia on Tuesday.
According to Temirgaliyev, about 1.5 billion cubic meters of gas are extracted annually in Crimea, which has one of the biggest Black Sea shelf deposits of oil and gas.
