Putin warns oil firms: cut flaring or pay fines

MOSCOW, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Russian oil companies will face "huge fines" should they fail to meet gas flaring targets requiring them to boost associated gas utilisation to 95 percent by 2012, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday.

"Oil companies that do not meet this requirement will pay huge fines," Putin told an industry meeting. (Reporting by Gleb Bryanski, writing by Robin Paxton, editing by Dmitry Zhdannikov)