I think there's no question that this policy was important in the early stages of development, when the price of oil was much lower than it is today. But now, with the increased price of oil, we feel this incentive is no longer needed. In the mid-1990s they put the tax and the royalty regime in place to spur the development. It was needed at the time. It's no longer needed.
On October 19th, 2006. See this statement in context.