ATYRAU (Kazakhstan), September 30. /ITAR-TASS/. The Russian government will consider a request from the oil giant Rosneft for aid from the National Welfare Fund within a month, Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Tuesday.

The Russian government will allocate money to Rosneft for its investment program on a repayable basis, Novak said. “This is borrowed money, which must be repaid. No doubt, the Economic Development Ministry will calculate these projects in terms of economic efficiency and repayment. That is why, specific projects will be examined,” Novak said.

The energy minister confirmed on Monday that Rosneft hit by Western sanctions had filed a request for financial assistance from the National Welfare Fund. He declined, however, to specify the amount requested by the Russian oil giant.

Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin earlier said the company had requested the government to provide funds on a repayable basis. He said it was still early to talk about any specific figures. “So far, terms are being discussed. But this is certainly more effective from the standpoint of investing (the financial resources of the National Welfare Fund) than placing funds abroad,” Sechin said at the time.

“The company has a better financial standing on the market than its competitors. Repayments on loans are made on schedule. Our request filed to the government (for financial assistance from the National Welfare Fund) is not related to our debts,” Sechin said.

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov earlier said Rosneft and the country’s largest independent gas producer Novatek would be able to receive 80-150 billion rubles ($2-3.9 billion) from the National Welfare Fund already this year.