Monday, February 27, 2006
Rosneft Boss Woos Investors Globally
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India to Take Over China's Bid for TNK BP's Udmurtneft Unit
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Russia to Sharply Increase Oil and Gas Exports to Asia-Pacific � Minister
22.02.2006 - MosNews - Russia intends to sharply increase exports of oil and natural gas to the Asia-Pacific region over the next 14 years to meet soaring demand there, the Russian government daily Rossiikaya Gazeta reported on Wednesday, Feb. 22, quoting Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko. In an interview given to the newspaper Kristenko said that Russia is planning a sharp boost in oil and gas exports to the countries of the Asia-Pacific region by the year 2020. He predicted that Asian countries would consume more and more energy in the foreseeable future while Western countries would continue to seek to regulate or cut back on energy consumption. The official named several projects which aim to provide long-term supply of fuel to Asian consumers. These include huge oil and gas deposits on the Sakhalin shelf and near the Kamchatka peninsula as well as new petroleum resources in Eastern Siberia. Khristenko said Russia was also interested in joint development of hydroelectric power and atomic energy in Asia where an appetite for oil and gas is surging. His comments came less than a week after Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov said in Hanoi that Russia was ready to help build a major dam and a nuclear power plant in Vietnam.
Repsol plans to help build LNG plant in Primorye
MADRID/MOSCOW. Feb 26 (Interfax) - Spanish oil and gas company Repsol YPF, one of the biggest players on the liquefied natural gas (LNG) market, is planning to take part in a Gazprom (RTS: GAZP) project to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Primorye, Repsol said in a report. "In February, a memorandum of agreement was signed with the Russian state-owned company, Gazprom, to develop joint ventures in liquefied natural gas. Under this MOU, Repsol YPF will participate in the "Baltic LNG" project for the construction of an LNG plant in St. Petersburg, producing gas for the American and European markets. Apart from its experience in the LNG business, Repsol YPF contributes in this venture with its regasification capacity, excellent position on the Atlantic markets, and in particular its major role in the Spanish market," the report says. Cooperation with Repsol in the LNG sector would be very beneficial for Gazprom from the point of view of logistical supplies of LNG, a source in a Russian company told Interfax. Repsol currently supplies LNG to Spain from Caribbean countries. If Gazprom could organize its own LNG deliveries to Spain, then favorable swap deals could be organized for Repsol gas on the North American markets from the Caribbean, the source said. Interfax was not able to get any comments from Repsol because of the weekend.
Oil sector securities drive stock market up
RBC, 26.02.2006, Moscow 12:14:38 - The Russian stock market opened on a steady upward trend in most securities. Oil-sector securities proved to be the top gainers. On MICEX, Surgutneftegas surged by 2.6 percent during the first few minutes of trade, and LUKoil added 1.5 percent. On the RTS stock exchange, Surgutneftegas soared 3.3 percent, LUKoil 2 percent, and Novatek 8.6 percent. The RTS index reached a level of 1,485.49 points in half an hour, up 1.36 percent on the opening rate. Specialists attribute the market's positive opening to the growth of Russian ADRs during the vacation of February 23 to 25. However, trader activity is expected to remain low in Russia, today being a day off on international exchanges.
Sakhalin I oil output reaches 345,000 tons
YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, February 27 (RIA Novosti, Pyotr Tsyrendorzhiyev) - Industrial oil production of the Sakhalin I project totaled 345,000 metric tons since October 2005, the Exxon Neftegas Limited press service said Monday. "The current oil output is about 6,000 [metric] tons per day [44,000 bbl/d]," a company spokesman said. "We are planning to begin oil shipments from a terminal in De-Kastri (the Khabarovsk Territory) later this summer." The Sakhalin I consortium has also supplied 158 million cubic meters of gas to consumers in Russia's Far East. The monthly gas supply capacity of the project is currently 74 million cu m and could be increased to 118 million cu m by the end of the year, depending on seasonal demand, the development of infrastructure in the region and the completion of the remaining phases of the project. The Sakhalin I project, the largest foreign direct investment project in Russia, is an international consortium comprised of operator Exxon Neftegaz (30%), Russia's Rosneft (20%), India's ONGC (20%), and Japan's SODECO (30%), to develop the Arkutun-Dagi, Odoptu, and Chaivo deposits on the island's northeastern shelf. Their recoverable reserves are estimated at 2.3 billion barrels of oil and 17.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. By the end of 2006, the consortium plans to begin operating an onshore oil facility at the Chaivo field to increase shipping capacity to 33,000 tons/day (242,000 bbl/d).
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Russia's Top Oil Producer Lukoil Plans Acquisitions in US, Europe
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Monday, February 13, 2006
Russia to create global natural gas market - French finance minister
MOSCOW, February 11 (RIA Novosti) - Russia plans to create a global natural gas market similar to the oil market, the French finance minister said Saturday. Thierry Breton said after a G8 finance ministers' meeting in Moscow that new ways to transport natural gas and build new gas pipelines via both Europe and Asia were being discussed. Breton said France would allocate a certain amount of money for the purpose via the European Investment Bank. The German finance minister backed the construction of the North European Gas Pipeline, saying it would help stabilize gas prices.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Russia won't prevent BP from boosting its hydrocarbon reserves in Russia-Putin
BRIEFLY MOSCOW. Jan 31 (Interfax) - Russia will not stand in the way of British oil company BP increasing its hydrocarbon reserves in Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a press conference in the Kremlin. "I think that BP already produces one-third of its production in Russia. This is a huge amount," he said. "Furthermore, BP's reserves in Russia are growing and the Russian government would like to see that these large resource reserves are put under the control of the joint venture TNK-BP. We will continue to go along this path," Putin said.
Moody's upgrades Sibneft to Ba1
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MOSCOW, January 31 (RIA Novosti) - The Moody's ratings agency raised Russian oil company Sibneft's corporate rating to Ba1, senior unsecured rating to Ba2, with a positive outlook, the agency said in a news release Tuesday.
State will not monopolize oil or nationalize companies - Putin
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Russia reduces crude export tariffs by $19
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