MOSCOW (AFP) — Russia's environmental regulator proposes stripping by the end of the year about 140 licenses held by foreign and Russian energy companies, a supervisory official said Thursday.

"Our service has proposed the withdrawal of about 140 licenses," said Oleg Mitvol, deputy head of Russia's environmental monitoring agency Rosprirodnadzor. A final decision depends on Russia's subsoil agency Rosnedr, he told AFP.

On Thursday, the RBK Daily business newspaper published a "blacklist" of companies reportedly slated to lose licenses over environmental concerns. Among them were licenses for the French group Total, Rospan, which is a subsidiary of Russian-British TNK-BP, as well as Russian firms Lukoil and Rosneft. Mitvol said a list had been drawn up, but that the published version was "incomplete."

Rosnedr is due to meet Friday on whether to remove Rospan's license in the promising gas fields at Urengoi-west in Siberia, a potentially serious blow to TNK-BP.

Mitvol reiterated that the regulatory attack was based on serious environmental concerns, but critics claim that the government agency has political motivations and is using regulations to force foreign companies to accept greater Russian participation in their projects.