RusEnergy

TALAKAN (Amur Region, Russian Far East), December 22, 2008 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's oil pipeline monopoly Transneft will announce and hold a tender in December for the purchase of pipes worth 20 billion rubles ($714 million), Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin said on Monday. "Transneft expects to hold a tender before the end of December for the purchase of pipes worth 20 billion rubles. The order will be distributed among four large domestic producers," Sechin said. Sechin, who oversees the fuel and energy complex in the Russian government, expressed hope that Transneft would fully implement its investment program in 2009. "We hope that cuts in the cost [of the investment program] will not affect its physical volume," Sechin said. The vice-premier also said that state-controlled oil company Rosneft also planned to place its main orders with domestic enterprises, adding that the crude producer had developed an anti-crisis package to cut production costs amid declining global oil prices and the ongoing global financial crisis.