RusEnergy

08-03-2005 Kommersant 
... between Department of Foreign Relations and Gasexport.
As Kommersant found, the head of Gasprom has on his desk a project of reforming the external economical block of the gas monopoly. The goal of the project is to finish crisscrossing functions of the Department of Foreign Relations (DFR)of Gasprom and Gasexport. The first one would supervise preliminary preparation of large international projects without participation (financial one as well) of acting foreign companies. The second one would enlarge the area of its duties and enter new foreign projects. The reform should start before the beginning of the North-European Gas Pipeline construction and the development of Shtokman's deposits.
Gasprom has its share in founding capitals of such companies as TopEnergy (Bulgaria), Gazprom Marketing and Trading Ltd and Interconnector Ltd (Great Britain), ZMB mbh, Wintershall Gas GmbH and Wintershall Erdgas Handelshaus GmbH (Germany), Wintershall Erdgas Handelshaus Zug AG (Switzerland), Volta Spa (Italy), Gazum and Nord Transgas (Finland),Slovrusgas (Slovakia), Europolgas (Poland), Turusgas (Turkey). Usually these companies participate by renting as an owner or participant as a stake holder in the gas networks or transport pipelines. For instance, there is a pipeline Yamal-Europe that runs through the territory of Poland.
The main duty of Gasexport is to sell gas and the secondary job is to manage Gasprom's assets (German WINGAS, WIEH) and to create the gas network in Greece. The company owns from 16 to 100 percent in Overgas (Bulgaria), Panrusgas ( Hungary), ZGG mbH and SOVAG (Germany), Gas und Warenhandels GmbH (Austria), Prometheys gas SA and GasCop SA (Greece), Promgas (Italy), PRAGAS (France), Gas-Trading SA (Poland), Progresgas-Trading (Yugoslavia).
For already several years there was an idea growing inside Gasprom to create a centralized structure of the external economic bloc. One source, who is close to the Board of Directors of Gasprom, explained that Gasprom management owns and manages an underground storage facilities. Gasexport, on its turn, fulfills the contracts with foreign consumers. Because of this situation, the gas monopoly sometimes had to minimize its profits in some segments of the markets due to crisscross of the both companies' functions. As an example, the source mentioned the experience of middlemen's structure TNG that was not always succesfully selling Turkmenian gas in Europe.
In April of 2005, Alexander Medvedev took a position as Gasprom's Deputy Chairman. He replaced Yuri Komarov, who was transferred to head the Gasprom's affiliate company for liquid gas operations. With new powers, Medvedev is ready to take on reform of corporate management of external economic activities. The employees of the giant holding company already discuss how the management would re-assign the duties. However, official information about it is suppose to appear only in the end of August because Gasprom's Chairman Alexei Miller is on vacation until August 8 and Medvedev himself left for vacation on Monday.
After the reorganization inside of Gasprom, DFR would develop foreign economic policy. It would also be responsible for preparation and coordination of large international project to their final stage. After that, the realization of these projects would be handed to different companies within the Gasprom Group.
As Kommersant learned from the source close to Gasprom, the reform project helps Medvedev centralize management of foreign assets, which right now are under control of the Department of Property Management and Corporate relationships, headed by Olga Pavlova. Gasexport did not confirm that Gasprom assets would be transferred under its supervision. However, Gasexport representatives did not deny that the Gasprom would manage its property in Europe through Gasexport. As Kommersant's source explained, the representatives of DFR could be replaced by Gasprom managers in European joint-ventures. The Gasexport officers would be participating in actual deal completion instead of DFR employees.
Let's note, that Gasprom last Friday signed an agreement with Netherlands company Vitol to purchase the capacity to store 143 million cubic meters on gas in a new gas storage facility in Great Britain's Humbly Grove. This one of the parts of the North European Pipeline project. Two months earlier, Gasprom made an agreement with Austrian RAG for construction and use of gas depositary Haidag in Upper Austria. The planned reforms are pretty timely because Gasprom already in Septemeber is intend to name the partners for Shtokman deposits exploration.
Medvedev was several times mentioning oil company Shell as an example for corporate management. Different departments are responsible for the company's policy development and their functions do not overlap. The source also said that there was a talk to give to Medvedev some of the functions of another Chairman's Deputy -Alexander Ryazanov, who is managing a joint venture in the Baltic republics. According to the Kommersant's source information, Gasprom will be coordinating daily work at Eastern, Central and Western Europe, and Ryazanov would be responsible for the CIS territory.