Russia
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Basic Political Developments
• Itar-Tass: Medvedev to meet Obama, address UN members
• RIA: Russian president arrives in U.S. for three-day visit
• RT: Medvedev to present Russia’s stand on global politics at the UN
• RIA: UN chief says Russia-U.S. arms deal key for nuke-free world
• Barentsobserver: Russia, EU step up customs cooperation
• NY Times: Russia, Plagued by Heroin Use, to Press U.S. on Destroying Afghan Poppy Crops
• BSANNA-News: Ukraine, Russia foreign ministers to meet in Kharkiv October 6 - 7
• RIA: Russian military probes media reports on Airborne Troops chief
• Telegraph.co.uk: Russian commander 'used' special troops to block police search of relative's factory
• RIA: Russia concludes third stage of Nerpa sub trials in Far East
• Barentsobserver: Nuclear cruiser fleet could be modernized
• Axisglobe:Evidence found on connection between high-ranking Russian embassy diplomat in Spain and arrested mole Florez Garcia – newspaper
• Axisglobe:Russian special-task troops secretly training in Crimea - Ukrainian mass media
• Axisglobe: Russian Federal Security Service officer found dead at St.Petersburg’s suburb
• RIA: Last body found at site of Siberian hydropower plant accident
• Interfax: Bodies of all victims of Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP accident found
• Itar-Tass: Motor ship sinks in Taimyr, casualties being specified
• RIA: Steamboat capsizes on Siberian lake, victims possible
• WSJ: Doctor Says Russia Understating Swine-Flu Cases
• Trend.az: Too early to say that Russia's radar station in Gabala will be part of missile defense system used by Americans in South Caucasus: British expert
• BBC: Teenaged racists jailed in Russia
• Reuters: Russian tycoon bids for U.S. Nets basketball team
• The Bristol Bay Times: Russian group to Alaska Natives: Stop hunting polar bears
National Economic Trends
• Bloomberg: Russia Forecasts 8.5% Contraction This Year, Growth in 2010
• Cbonds: MED: Russian GDP remains unchanged in August
• Reuters: UPDATE 1-Russia rouble gains, market on intervention watch
• WSJ: Ruble Hits 9-Mo High Vs Dollar As Investors Eye Carry Trad
• Cbonds: Shuvalov: Russian government should think out ways of making the ruble a regional reserve currency
• AFP: Russia to relaunch privatization drive
• Agrimarket: Russia decreased agricultural production by 3.7%
• Agrimarket: Domestic and external demand to condition grain production in Russia
Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions
• Bloomberg: Hyundai Steel to Buy Coal From Siberian Anthracite (Update1)
• Rus Business News: ING Group Winding Down Insurance Business In Russia
• Steel Guru: New steel plant to be built in Russia Volgograd region
• Bloomberg; Sovcomflot First-Half Net Tumbles 65% to $116.8 Million
• Rus Business News: Amazonia Will Open Its Depths To Urals People
Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)
• Upstreamonline: Russia may sell stake in Rosneft
• Reuters: Russia may sell partial stake in Rosneft –papers
• WSJ: Moscow to Welcome Bids on Major Natural-Gas Field
• Pipelines International: Bulgaria, Russia to form South Stream working groups
• Pipelines International: Nord Stream fishes for agreements
• Pipelines International: Nord Stream fishes for agreements
• Pipelines International: PetroNeft raises pipeline capital
• Bloomberg: Total May Get Russian Bids for European Refineries, Chief Says
• Reuters: UPDATE 1-Russia Novatek board approves 30 bln rbl bond issue
Gazprom
• Steel Guru: Russia and Gazprom in talks on purchase of Kovykta stake
• Bloomberg: Enel May Sell Stake in Russian Gas Unit to Gazprom Within Weeks
• American Chronicle: LG Brought in By Gazprom for Advice on Shtokman
• Bdonline: Major boost for RMJM's Gazprom tower
• Architects Journal: Controversial Gazprom tower gets green light
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Full Text Articles
Basic Political Developments
Itar-Tass: Medvedev to meet Obama, address UN members
23.09.2009, 00.45
NEW YORK, September 23 (Itar-Tass) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday is starting a three-day working visit to the United States. The first leg of Medvedev’s trip will be New York where he will take part in the work of the UN General Assembly, in a summit of the UN Security Council leaders on nuclear disarmament and will hold about 10 bilateral talks.
For the Russian president it will be the second visit to the United States – the first one was last November when he took part in the first G20 summit in Washington - however, it will be his first visit to the largest American city and the first participation in a session of the UN General Assembly.
Right on arrival in New York Medvedev will attend a dinner that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will give in honour of the participants in the 2009 Summit on Climate Change.
In New York Medvedev will stay at the famous Waldorf Astoria Hotel where he plans talks with the Chinese president and Japanese prime minister, other foreign leaders, as well as heads of international organisations on Wednesday.
The Russian and US presidents will start their meeting in New York when it will be late in Moscow. It will be the third full-scale talks between Medvedev and Obama. “The proposal to hold this meeting was made by the American side,” Medvedev’s press secretary Natalya Timakova said. “The two leaders will discuss the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. It will be an important ‘checkpoint’ after the July summit in Moscow,” she added. These talks will “most likely promote the settlement of disputed issues (in the negotiating process on the conclusion of a new treaty),” she believes.
Medvedev will also on Wednesday address the international community from the UN rostrum. In the general political discussion at the 64th session of the UN General Assembly, many heads of state and government, including the leaders of Russia, the United States, Great Britain, China and France will address the international community.
“Dmitry Medvedev in his speech will express the key assessments of the current international development period, will dwell on Russian priorities in the context of the 64th session agenda, will share his view on how to make the modern system of international relations more just and balanced,” a Kremlin source told Itar-Tass.
Russia has noticed US President Barack Obama’s statement on a readjustment of his country’s approach to the problem of deployment of elements of the US national antiballistic missiles system, Medvedev said last Thursday. “I discussed the issue with President Obama in the course of our talks in London and Moscow and we came to an agreement then and fixed it in our joint statements that Russia and the US will work together to assess the risks of missile technologies worldwide proliferation,” he said. “The statement made in Washington earlier today shows that favourable enough conditions are taking shape for the work of this kind,” Medvedev said. “Quite naturally, experts will yet have to hold precisely-targeted consultations and this country is ready for them,” he noted. “In any case, President Obama and I will have a fair opportunity to exchange opinions on all aspects of strategic stability, including the antiballistic missiles system, in the course of a meeting due in New York September 23,” Medvedev pointed out. “I hope we’ll be able to give instructions to the appropriate departments after it on stepping up bilateral interaction that will embrace European and other interested states at later stages,” he added. “We’ll design efficacious measures of counteraction to missile risks together and will ensure equal security for all countries on the European continent,” Medvedev noted. He praised the US President’s responsible approach to the bilateral agreements, adding: “I’m ready for further dialogue.”
Obama confirmed at a White House conference (Sept 17) that the defence shield designed by George W. Bush’s Administration, involving a radar base in the Czech Republic and an interceptor missile base in Poland, was being dropped. He said that after a comprehensive review he had decided to accept a recommendation of both Defence Secretary Robert Gates and of the Chiefs of Staff to opt for a “smarter, stronger and swifter” system composed of both sea-based and land-based mobile interceptors. Obama said the latest intelligence suggested that the threat of long-range missile attacks from Iran had receded, but the threat of short-range or medium-range attacks remained quite realistic.
From the UN headquarters the summit participants will go to the famous Metropolitan Museum in Manhattan where at 19:00, local time (03:00, Thursday, Moscow time) Barack Obama will give a reception in honour of the heads of UN member states. Dmitry Medvedev and his wife Svetlana will attend the event.
On the next day at the UN headquarters in East River the Russian president will take part in the summit of the heads of member states of the UN Security Council on the nuclear disarmament problem and non-proliferation issues.
Then Medvedev will arrive in Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) where a summit of the G20 devoted to issues of overcoming the effects of the global economic crisis will be held on Friday.
RIA: Russian president arrives in U.S. for three-day visit
06:0323/09/2009
NEW YORK, September 23 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has arrived in the United States to attend a number of key international events and hold talks with foreign leaders.
Medvedev will address on Wednesday the 64th session of the UN General Assembly with his vision of the current world order and the system of international relations.
The agenda for the current session of the UN General Assembly, which brings together a total of 122 heads of state and government, includes such issues as the provision of world peace and security, protection of the environment and human rights, the struggle against terrorism, and measures to promote social and economic development.
Medvedev will also hold talks with U.S. President Barack Obama, Chinese President Hu Jintao, Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, Austrian President Heinz Fischer and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
On Thursday, the Russian President will attend a UN Security Council's summit on nuclear disarmament, hold talks with Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, and later travel to Pittsburg for a G20 summit to continue dialogue on steps to overcome the global economic crisis.
On the sidelines of the G20 summit he will hold bilateral talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicholas Sarkozy.
RT: Medvedev to present Russia’s stand on global politics at the UN
23 September, 2009, 08:33
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will address the UN General Assembly for the first time later on Wednesday. He will also meet the US President to discuss the anti-missile defense issue and a new strategic arms treaty.
In his speech, Medvedev will focus on Russia’s view on the current system of international relations. The Russian leader has repeatedly said the United Nations has an essential role in settling globally important problems.
Medvedev will spend three days in the United States, where he has planned talks with the leaders of China, Japan, France and Germany.
America’s ambitions to build an anti-missile defense shield in Eastern Europe have recently been the biggest stumbling block to effective relations between the two countries.
Moscow proposed joint projects, but Washington stuck to its own – missile interceptors in Poland and a radar system in the Czech Republic. This was too close for comfort for Russia.
Now the US has revised its plans, “having reassessed the Iranian threat.”
“To put it simply, our new missile defense architecture in Europe will provide stronger, smarter and swifter defenses of American forces and America's allies,” said President Obama last week.
For the US, the new structures are set to save money. Washington also stresses some of the technical benefits.
“We have now the opportunity to deploy new sensors and interceptors in northern and southern Europe that, near term, can provide missile defense coverage against more immediate threats from Iran or others,” commented US Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
Political goals are also a big part of the game. The new approach to missile defense leaves space for maneuvering with Moscow.
But before the US reveals more details of what’s to come, Russia has already made clear that only a joint project will be acceptable.
“As far as missile defense is concerned, we view it negatively unless we are to build it jointly,” Chief of the Armed Forces General Staff, Nikolay Makarov, stated on Monday. “So far, they [the US] have not agreed to develop joint missile defense.”
Specifics of the new plans have yet to be laid out by the United States.
Russia has shown it is ready to listen.
“We will work together to develop effective measures against the risks of missile proliferation. Measures which will take into account the interests and concerns of all parties, and which will ensure equal security to all states in Europe. We appreciate the US president's responsible approach to the implementation of our agreements. I'm ready to continue the dialogue,” said President Medvedev on September 17.
Political analysts are positive about the possible outcomes of the talks between the Russian and American presidents.
“We can expect a general improvement of Russia-American relations,” said political analyst Kirill Koktysh speaking to RT.
RIA: UN chief says Russia-U.S. arms deal key for nuke-free world
09:3723/09/2009
UNITED NATIONS, September 23 (RIA Novosti) - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that the commitments made by the U.S. and Russia to reduce strategic and nuclear weapons were "extremely important" to achieve a world free of nuclear arms.
The UN chief made the comments hours before U.S. President Barack Obama is scheduled to chair a meeting of the Security Council, which is to focus on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, including the UN-backed Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty (CNBT).
Ban earlier called the July agreement between Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow to cut their countries' nuclear arsenals to 1,500-1,675 and operational warheads and delivery vehicles to 500-1,000 "a very rare momentum created [by] the international community."
At a Conference of Disarmament in May a program was adopted allowing the UN to negotiate and discuss non-proliferation and strategic disarmament.
Russia and the U.S. held a sixth round of talks on nuclear arms reduction on Monday in Geneva. Medvedev said that the chance of Russia reaching an agreement with the U.S. on a new arms deal (START) by the end of 2009 was "sufficiently high."
According to a report published by the U.S. State Department in April, as of January 1 Russia had 3,909 nuclear warheads and 814 delivery vehicles, including ground-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), submarine launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) and strategic bombers.
The same report said the United States had 5,576 warheads and 1,198 delivery vehicles
Barentsobserver: Russia, EU step up customs cooperation
2009-09-23
The establishment of a joint customs system was on the agenda when leader of the Russian Customs Service yesterday met with EU Commissioner Laszlo Kovacs.
The goal with our meetings is the establishment of a joint Russian-EU customs system, Russian Customs leader Andrei Belyaninov confirms in a press release.
That includes the development of customs infrastructure, harmonization and facilitation of customs procedures and handling of goods, as well as exchange of information, the Russian Customs service informs.
The customs cooperation is also discussed within the frames of the ongoing negotiations over a new Russian-EU Partnership Agreement.
The EU is Russia's by far main trading partner, accounting for 52,3 percent of its overall trade turnover in 2008.
The EU in 2008 exported goods worth a total of 105 billion EUR to Russia, while Russian exports to the Union the same year amounted to 173,2 billion EUR, the EU Commission informs.
NY Times: Russia, Plagued by Heroin Use, to Press U.S. on Destroying Afghan Poppy Crops
By ELLEN BARRY
Published: September 22, 2009
MOSCOW — During talks this week with his American counterpart, Russia’s top drug enforcement official, Viktor P. Ivanov, will press the United States to step up efforts to destroy Afghan poppy cultivation, which he said was feeding a devastating drug problem in Russia.
The request comes just as American policy makers have swung sharply away from Bush-era programs to eradicate the opium poppy crop, which is used to produce heroin. After a visit to Afghanistan in July, the Obama administration’s special envoy for the region, Richard C. Holbrooke, said poppy eradication had alienated poor farmers and was “driving people into the hands of the Taliban.”
Mr. Ivanov, head of the federal drug control service and a trusted adviser to Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin, said Tuesday that eradication programs had failed in Afghanistan because they were too weak, and that the United States should apply the more muscular methods it used recently in Colombia, where vast coca fields were sprayed aerially with the herbicide glyphosate.
“I would call on the United States to use defoliation from the air,” Mr. Ivanov said, citing the work of Thomas Schweich, who served as ambassador for counternarcotics and justice reform in Afghanistan under President George W. Bush.
“There are people who support this method in the United States,” Mr. Ivanov said. “The debate is going on, which is important.”
Afghanistan is seen as a crucial area of cooperation for the United States and Russia, in large part because of Russia’s crippling heroin problem. The authorities here estimate that 30,000 young Russians die every year from drug use. Mr. Ivanov said that 90 percent of Russian addicts used Afghan heroin, which flows into the country freely over the “virtual borders” it shares with central Asian neighbors.
The flow of drugs from Afghanistan may seem abstract in Washington, he said, but it is developing into a global security risk, providing funds to militant groups, and tainting the United States’ image.
“I do not back anti-Americanism, but this cannot but affect our relations with third countries,” Mr. Ivanov added. “The problem has to be solved somehow. There is a decision to increase the military contingent in Afghanistan, but this idea does not enjoy much support. Arms could be twisted and new forces sent there, but does this solve the problem? We can see that the poppy plantations are not shrinking.”
By advising aerial eradication, Mr. Ivanov is stepping into a longstanding policy debate. Several years into the current war, when efforts to manually eradicate the poppy crop began, some Bush officials began arguing for aerial spraying, said Vanda Felbab-Brown, a counternarcotics expert at the Brookings Institution.
But others warned that the tactic would have devastating social and economic consequences, depriving farmers of their livelihood and potentially turning them toward the insurgency. Members of President Obama’s policy team were so compelled by these arguments that they rejected the eradication program undertaken by the last administration and shifted their efforts to interdicting opium supplies and cultivating alternative crops.
“It’s a dramatic change, not just in Afghanistan — it’s a dramatic change in the history of U.S. narcotics policy,” Ms. Felbab-Brown said, adding that if Russian negotiators are not aware of the shift, “either there is some real breakdown in communications, or they didn’t do their homework.”
Afghanistan’s opium crop shrank last year for the second year running, and prices fell to their lowest point in 10 years, the United Nations reported this month. Some observers attributed the drop to successful eradication and interdiction programs, others to market dynamics.
Afghanistan still produces more opium every year than users worldwide consume, and illicit stockpiles may have grown to 10,000 tons, a two-year world supply, the report said.
Mr. Ivanov, whose visit is being cast as a kickoff to “reset” talks between Russian and American officials, said he would not present the eradication idea as an ultimatum. But he was clearly prepared to make his case, suggesting, for instance, that, the United States eradicate the poppy fields and then use some of the money it spends on antidrug programs to plant wheat for Afghan farmers.
“The Afghan government is against it,” he said of aerial eradication. “But they are not able to defeat this monster alone. It is too strong. If they cannot deal with terrorism alone, and need help from outside, they cannot fight this monster, which is much stronger.”
BSANNA-News: Ukraine, Russia foreign ministers to meet in Kharkiv October 6 - 7
KYIV, September 23. /UKRINFORM/. Ukraine's Acting Foreign Minister Volodymyr Khandohiy is scheduled to meet with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Kharkiv (eastern Ukraine) on October 6 - 7, foreign office spokesman Vasyl Kyrylych told a news briefing.
“The subject of the meeting of heads of the Ukrainian and Russian foreign ministries is bilateral dialogue and cooperation, and the main question is inter-regional cooperation in the Russia - Ukraine dialogue,” he said adding that “the latest meeting was held in 2007.”
The heads of regional state administrations and border regions of the two countries are also planning to take part in the meeting.
RIA: Russian military probes media reports on Airborne Troops chief
01:3223/09/2009
MOSCOW, September 23 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov has ordered an official probe into media reports alleging the involvement of the Airborne Troops commander Lt. Gen. Vladimir Shamanov in criminal activities.
"An official investigation will be conducted in connection with a number of articles concerning Shamanov," the defense minister's press secretary Col. Alexei Kuznetsov said on Tuesday.
The Novaya Gazeta newspaper, among other media sources, earlier reported that Shamanov had ordered two elite teams of paratroopers to hinder an investigation at a company owned by his son-in-law, who is on the run from police on alleged murder charges.
Neither the paratroopers nor the general actually arrived at the offices of the company, but the paper said it had recordings of the general's telephone conversations with his subordinates, his son, who is on the board of directors of the company in question, and some other people, which fully prove his involvement.
Meanwhile, Airborne Troops spokesman Col. Alexander Cherednik told the Echo Moskvy radio on Tuesday that the paratroopers did not do anything illegal.
"We have nothing to confess and nothing to apologize for," Cherednik said.
Vladimir Shamanov, a Hero of Russia and commander of the 76th Airborne Division during the second Chechen War, was appointed the new commander of the Russian Airborne Troops in May.
Telegraph.co.uk: Russian commander 'used' special troops to block police search of relative's factory
One of Russia's most senior military commanders is being investigated over claims he used special forces troops to block a police search of a factory owned by his fugitive son-in-law.
By Andrew Osborn in Moscow
Published: 3:05PM BST 22 Sep 2009
The allegations, made in the liberal newspaper Novaya Gazeta, have prompted the defence ministry to launch a probe that threatens the career of Lieutenant General Vladimir Shamanov, head of Russia's airborne troops.
A Kremlin favourite, the general is a decorated Hero of Russia and commanded Russian forces in the Georgian breakaway region of Abkhazia last year.
The scandal is an awkward test case for the Kremlin's high-profile war on corruption, while Kremlin critics say it confirms their fears that the practice of abusing official office for personal ends has become routine.
"This is simply beyond the realm of good and evil," Yevgenia Albats, editor of liberal magazine New Times, told Ekho Moskvy radio. "That General Shamanov takes Special Forces troops and sends them off to solve his personal issues is a nightmare situation."
The allegations are backed by a leaked police intercept of General Shamanov's mobile telephone conversations in which he is heard ordering a subordinate to mobilise twenty Special forces troops to stop and "intern" a police investigator trying to search a Moscow factory. According to Novaya Gazeta, the factory, valued at up to $25m, is owned by the general's son-in-law. His son sits on the board, and his daughter is laying claim to half ownership. The general's son-in-law is a fugitive from justice who is wanted for attempted murder.
General Shamanov told Novaya Gazeta he refused to comment on what he said was a personal matter, dismissing the allegations as provocative rumours. If he does lose his job, human rights activists will not shed any tears. They accuse him of presiding over numerous war crimes in Chechnya. The General, 52, denies wrongdoing.
RIA: Russia concludes third stage of Nerpa sub trials in Far East
12:2423/09/2009
KHABAROVSK, September 23 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Nerpa nuclear attack submarine, damaged in a fatal accident during tests in November last year, successfully completed the third stage of sea trials, the governor of the Khabarovsk Territory said on Wednesday.
"The submarine is in a good state of readiness and there is confidence that it will be commissioned on time," Vyacheslav Shport said.
The vessel resumed sea trials on July 10 in the Sea of Japan following extensive repairs.
On November 8, 2008, while the Nerpa was undergoing sea trials, its onboard fire suppression system activated, releasing a deadly gas into the sleeping quarters. Three crewmembers and 17 shipyard workers were killed. There were 208 people, 81 of them submariners, onboard the vessel at the time.
Following the repairs, which cost an estimated 1.9 billion rubles ($60 million), the submarine was cleared for final sea trials before being commissioned with the Russian Navy, and will be leased to the Indian Navy by the end of 2009 under the name INS Chakra.
India reportedly paid $650 million for a 10-year lease of the 12,000-ton K-152 Nerpa, an Akula II class nuclear-powered attack submarine.
Akula II class vessels are considered the quietest and deadliest of all Russian nuclear-powered attack submarines.
Barentsobserver: Nuclear cruiser fleet could be modernized
2009-09-22
Russia’s fleet of laid-up nuclear cruisers of the Kirov-class could be rebuilt and put into operation again.
Intervied by Ekho Moskva, Russian Deputy Minister of Defense Vladimir Popovkin says there is a need for a renovated fleet of surface vessels. In particular, the nuclear powered cruisers are subject to reconstruction programs, which now are being developed, Popovkin said.
Today, Russia has only one nuclear powered battle cruiser, Pyotr Veliky, based in the Russian Northern fleets main base Severomorsk.
Three other vessels of the same class are laid up. They are Admiral Ushakov and Admiral Lasarev in the Northern fleet and Admiral Nakhimov in Russia’s Pacific fleet. All three have been out of active service since the breakup of the Soviet Union.
Pyotr Veliky was taken into service in 1996 and is today considered to be the flagship of the Northern fleet.
Deputy Defense Minister Popovkin said the Navy should include at least two or three nuclear powered battle cruisers with the purpose of long-distance sailings.
Arriving at its homeport Severomorsk in March this year, Pyotr Veliky had made the longest and longest lasting tour in the modern history of the Russian Navy, as reported by BarentsObserver. The cruiser had then visited both South Africa, hunted pirates outside Somalia, participated in joint drills with both the Venezuelan Navy and later with the Indian Navy. The vessel can be armed with nuclear cruise missiles.
Although, Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister says the laid-up cruisers could be reconstructed, that task will eventually be difficult and expensive. The vessels have been out of service for nearly 20 years and are reported to be in bad shape.
Russia’s nuclear cruisers are each equipped with two nuclear reactors generating 300 MWt.
Axisglobe: Evidence found on connection between high-ranking Russian embassy diplomat in Spain and arrested mole Florez Garcia – newspaper
22.09.2009
Russian diplomat Petr Melnikov was ‘a signal man’ between Spanish spy Roberto Florez Garcia and the Russian Foreign Inteligence Service, daily El Pais writes, referring to the report of the television channel SER.
Florez, the former employee of the National Intelligence Centre (CNI, Centro Nacional de Inteligencia), was arrested in Tenerife in July, 2007, and is in prison waiting for the trial. He is accused of high treason and collaboration with the Russian secret services, reminds the newspaper. The accused faces a prison sentence of between six and twelve years according to Spanish law. The mole might be condemned to twelve years of jail for the crimes of treachery and revelation of national defense secrets, according to Antena 3.
Two houses belonging to Florez in Tenerife were searched and as a result a large number of documents were seized. The charge is based on the document which was found at Florez’s house at a search: this is a letter to the Russian secret services with the offer to give the classified information for $200,000 and it has been addressed to the adviser of the Russian embassy on political matters Petr Melnikov. Lists with data of dozens of Spanish spies have been found together with the letter. According to investigation, these data was successfully transferred by Florez to Melnikov during at least three years, between 2001 and 2004, the newspaper writes.
Referring to judicial sources, El Pais writes that the mole was keeping copies of the documents that he sold to the Russian agent in his house in Canary Islands with the names and the destinations of dozens of Spanish secret agents who were employed in the country and at missions abroad.
Axisglobe:Russian special-task troops secretly training in Crimea - Ukrainian mass media
22.09.2009
Annually without superfluous publicity Russia has been holding in the Crimea trainings of a GRU special-task unit from Tuapse which destroyed the Georgian fleet during the military conflict in August, 2008, online magazine Glavred writes.
Having at its disposal special bases of preparation at the Caucasian coast of Russia, twice a year Moscow prefers to train skills of military intelligence Spetsnaz in the territory of Ukraine, Glavred expands.
The magazine emphasizes that from the beginning of the 1990s, the quantity of the FSB agents in the Black Sea fleet has increased from 2 up to 19 officers. Besides 5 structural divisions of the Russian General Staff’s Main Intelligence Directorate have been working, «that actively counteracted the establishment of the Ukrainian statehood in the Crimea and Sevastopol in the beginning of the 1990s».
«The employees of the Russian intelligence have been actively working on formation of loyal attitude of the population of the Crimea and Sevastopol to the Russian Black Sea fleet, that as a result can lead to «national» support of prolongation of terms of basing of the Russian Blac Sea fleet in Ukraine. Other direction of activity of the GRU employees in the region is formation of anti-NATO mood among local population», the magazine writes.
The Sevastopol author of the scrupulously lists the revealed data on impudent behaviour of the Russian security service officers in Ukraine. The edition emphasizes that the FSB officers attached to the Russian Black Sea fleet have been coordinating activity of the local pro-Russian forces and also sharing experience with representatives of private security business. Glavred mentions the name of the FSB officer Sergei Zharkov as a lecturer with the private security enterprise Force-majeur.
According to Glavred, examples of behaviour of the Russian FSB employees in the territory of Ukraine prove correctness of the SBU requirements to the FSB employees to leave the Crimea till December 13, 2009. Otherwise the Ukrainian Security Service is ready to bring against the Russian security service officers a criminal case on the espionage clause, Novy Region adds.
Axisglobe: Russian Federal Security Service officer found dead at St.Petersburg’s suburb
22.09.2009
In the area of Kupchin, suburb of St.Petersburg, a corpse of an employee of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) was found, online paper Novy Region reports.
The identity of the officer was defined according to documents which were found in his clothes. No attributes of violent death has been revealed at preliminary examination of the corpse which was sent to a mortuary, according to news agency Operativnoye Prikrytie. The victim worked in the Sea Inspection of the FSB Border Guard directorate. His colleagues have been telling that the officer has had some health problems, news agency adds.
Earlier this month, other employee of the security service was attacked by an unknown person. The criminal attacked on 43 y.o. security officer on September, 4, in a cabin of the lift in the Veterans Avenue apartment house, Novy Region adds. The malefactor robbed 20,000 roubles, the service and driver's certificates, two cellular phones and a tourist knife. After visiting a party with friends, the FSB officer did not manage to render resistance to the unaided robber, online paper notes.
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RIA: Last body found at site of Siberian hydropower plant accident
11:0223/09/2009
KRASNOYARSK, September 23 (RIA Novosti) - Rescuers recovered on Wednesday the last body, missing following an accident at a Siberian hydroelectric station last month, the new discovery brings the death toll to 75 people.
Water surged into the Sayano-Shushenskaya plant on Siberia's Yenisei River on August 17 destroying a turbine hall and killing 75 people.
"The body [of a woman] was found today, we believe it is Marina Rau," said Viktor Feller, chief criminal investigator at the Khakassian Russian Prosecutor General's Office.
Identification procedures and an autopsy have already been scheduled.
Russian investigative committee head Vladimir Markin said that the body could be Marina Rau, born in 1967, who worked at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydro power plant.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin called for a thorough and objective investigation into the disaster.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin said that the accident was caused, among other things, by poor technical control on the part of the plant's management, and that the commission investigating the incident was expected to deliver its report in the near future.
Nikolai Kutyin, who heads Rostekhnadzor, hinted that the report would point to "technical and administrative faults."
Putin also demanded that equipment at all hydroelectric plants across the country be checked, and proposed drafting a set of common regulations for their operation as a preventive measure.
"Technical safety, the protection of people's lives must be the priority," the Russian premier said.
Interfax: Bodies of all victims of Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP accident found
NOVOSIBIRSK. Sept 23 (Interfax) - The body of the 75th person who
went missing as a result of the August accident has been found at the
Sayano-Shushenskaya hydropower plant, a source at the Khakasia branch of
the Russian Prosecutor's Office Investigative Committee told Interfax.
"The body of a missing woman, presumably, Marina Rau, an employee
of the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP, has been found," the source said.
The body is currently being identified, he said.
No formal confirmation of this information was made available to
Interfax.
It was reported earlier that the bodies of 74 victims were found
and one was still missing. By now the bodies all victims killed as a
result of the accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP have been found.
The accident occurred on August 17 and led to full or partial
destruction of nine of the ten hydropower units and killed 75 people.
Russia's biggest hydropower plant has been temporarily shut down.
Repairing it might take three to five years and cost 40 billion rubles.
Itar-Tass: Motor ship sinks in Taimyr, casualties being specified
23.09.2009, 09.08
KRASNOYARSK, September 23 (Itar-Tass) - A passenger motor ship, which belonged to a private businessman, sank in Taimyr.
The incident occurred on Pyasino Lake on Tuesday, 80 kilometers away from Norilsk, the press service of the West Siberian transport prosecutor’ s office told Itar-Tass on Wednesday. The motor ship was caught in the storm, overthrew and sank. According to preliminary reports, five passengers survived. The number of passengers aboard the motor ship is being specified.
The investigating group could fly to the incident site only on Wednesday due to the bad weather.
The investigators are checking the fulfillment of the legislation on the safety rules of navigation and exploitation of the river-going transport.
RIA: Steamboat capsizes on Siberian lake, victims possible
09:4523/09/2009
NOVOSIBIRSK, September 23 (RIA Novosti) - Rescuers are searching a north Siberian lake after a storm caused a steamboat to capsize, five people are reported to have been rescued, local prosecutors said on Wednesday.
The boat sunk on Tuesday in Lake Pyasino, 80 km (49 miles) from Norilsk, Siberia's northernmost city above the Arctic Circle. Emergency crews are trying to establish how many people were onboard the boat when the storm hit.
Prosecutors and emergencies officials have provided conflicting reports on the number of missing.
"Five people survived, seven are missing," the central Investigation Committee said on its website citing preliminary reports.
Local emergencies officials, however, said a total of seven people were on board the vessel, and two are unaccounted for. They said five people had left the steamer prior to the accident. "The fate of two is not known, we are trying to establish their identity."
Police were informed of the incident following a call from an anonymous caller.
Oksana Gorbunova, a spokeswoman for the local prosecutor, said investigators and rescuers were unable to get to the scene immediately due to poor weather. A rescue helicopter only managed to fly to the lake on Wednesday.
The steamer is believed to be a private vessel, she said.
Pyasino is a large freshwater lake with an area of 735 sq km. Its average depth is 4 meters. It freezes up in October and stays icebound until June.
SEPTEMBER 23, 2009
WSJ: Doctor Says Russia Understating Swine-Flu Cases
Controversy Grows as Kremlin Denies Claim of H1N1 Pandemic, Highlighting Wide Suspicion About Nation's Health System
By GREGORY L. WHITE
MOSCOW -- A top Russian virologist's charge that health authorities are drastically understating the number of cases of H1N1, or swine, flu -- a claim that senior health officials fiercely rejected -- has raised questions about Russia's claims to be relatively unaffected by the pandemic.
The controversy started late Sunday, when state television carried an interview with Dmitry Lvov, head of the government's Institute of Virology, who reported what he said was Russia's first death from H1N1 influenza, saying his institute had tested a sample from the victim.
Dr. Lvov, one of the country's most prominent health specialists, also said there were "tens of thousands" of H1N1 cases in Russia, far more than the 381 the government officially reports.
Top officials have strongly rejected both claims. Public-health chief Gennady Onishchenko accused Dr. Lvov of an "informational terrorist act," according to the official ITAR-Tass news agency. Authorities published detailed information about the death Dr. Lvov referred to, arguing that the patient died of pneumonia and other underlying health conditions, not H1N1.
But the storm has continued, as Dr. Lvov has stuck by his charges and other specialists too have cast doubt on the official figures.
A doctor answering a swine-flu hotline at the state-run Influenza Institute in St. Petersburg this week said, "There have been lethal cases of this flu in Russia. It couldn't be otherwise; we're not isolated from the world." Officially, Russia is one of the few countries left in the world without a single H1N1 death.
The debate has caused an unusual split in the state media, which typically work in lock-step. Dr. Lvov's comments came in a prime-time exposé on the national Rossiya channel that called into question the government's readiness to deal with the pandemic. Tuesday, the official newspaper, Rossiiskaya Gazeta, took the opposite tack, carrying the Health Ministry's denial.
Public suspicion about official transparency of health risks runs deep in Russia, where the former Soviet government frequently covered up major outbreaks. Polls show deep dissatisfaction with the underfunded state-run health system. Poor medical care is cited by international health organizations as a major reason why life expectancy in Russia lags behind levels in Western countries.
In his TV interview, Dr. Lvov accused Dr. Onishchenko's agency of trying to cover up the scale of the outbreak to conceal the failure of their efforts to keep it out of Russia. Dr. Onishchenko rejected those allegations.
In its H1N1-control efforts, Russia has emphasized limiting exposure, measuring the temperatures of airline passengers coming from infected countries and quarantining the sick.
Dr. Onishchenko also has called on Russians not to travel to countries with major outbreaks, including the U.S. and U.K. Earlier this year, his agency banned some pork imports to combat the flu, even though the virus isn't carried by meat. The agency reports daily on the number of airline passengers checked for fever.
Russian officials say they are testing a vaccine and expect to have 40 million doses by year-end, enough to cover about 30% of the population. The Health Ministry this week said locally developed antiviral were more effective, cheaper and safer than foreign ones such as Tamiflu and production would be ramped up soon.
—Olga Padorina and Betsy McKay contributed to this article.
Write to Gregory L. White at greg.white@
Trend.az: Too early to say that Russia's radar station in Gabala will be part of missile defense system used by Americans in South Caucasus: British expert
22.09.2009 14:31
Azerbaijan, Baku, September 22 / Trend News, E.Tariverdiyeva /
It is too early to speak about U.S. and Russia's joint use of Gabala radar in Azerbaijan, Director of the British Transatlantic and Caucasus Studies Institute Ziba Norman said.
"It is no secret that the U.S. has long envied Russia's position in Gabala in Azerbaijan, though it is too soon to say whether this might become a site for U.S. missile defense system in the South Caucasus," Norman told Trend News.
Within the new architecture of American missile defense system in Europe, the Pentagon plans to deploy radar for early warning of missile launches in the Caucasus instead of the Czech Republic, Marine Corps General James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Friday, ITAR-TASS reported.
Cartwright attended a press conference held by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to explain President Barack Obama's decision to scrap plans for anti-missile defence systems in Eastern Europe, namely Poland and the Czech Republic, Norman said by e-mail.
According to the General, the new architecture still envisages deployment of early warning radar, which operates in the centimeter range. "And most likely it will be done in the Caucasus," said Cartwright, without specifying where.
According to Norman, President Obama's decision to scrap plans for anti-missile defence systems in Eastern Europe does represent a change in US policy. Public opinion in Poland and the Czech Republic was very divided about the benefits of such a system, whilst the Russian view that these systems had the potential to be more than defensive and potentially posed a threat to their own security, was a major factor in the deterioration of relations between the US and Russia, Norman said.
According to Norman, it is not clear yet whether this change will translate into greater cooperation with the West and the US especially in respect of that most thorny of geopolitical problems: Iran.
"Whilst one system is being scrapped by the USA, another is being developed in its place, one which is meant to be more flexible and better suited to the threat posed by Iran," the expert said.
"This system, housed on US naval destroyers placed in the North Sea and in the Eastern Mediterranean, would operate to protect Europe, Norman said. But there are plans for more land based systems as well in Turkey and Israel, which would augment this capability. And sites in the Balkans are being considered as well."
According to Norman, Obama plans to develop SM-3 missile interceptors instead, which target short and medium range missiles (the real threat posed by Iran at present and in the foreseeable future).
"This decision has removed one point of friction between the US and Russia. It remains to be seen whether Russia will now genuinely assist in reining in Iranian nuclear ambitions, the expert said. And Russian cooperation is essential if the Iranian threat is to be countered without the use of force."
"This may be one of the last opportunities left for Russia and the West to draw together to stop further destabilisation in the Middle East," Norman said.
BBC: Teenaged racists jailed in Russia
Page last updated at 16:13 GMT, Tuesday, 22 September 2009 17:13 UK
A gang of racist youths have been sent to jail for a string of brutal attacks on foreigners in the Russian capital Moscow in 2008.
Terms of between eight and 10 years were handed down to the teenaged ringleaders, including a 17-year-old girl, Yevgenia Zhikhareva.
Several younger members of the gang got lighter sentences because of their age.
The gang were accused of attacking foreigners at random on the streets of Moscow. One was killed.
The victims were from China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. They were attacked in February and March 2008.
The gang members were accused of four attempted murders and one actual murder.
The dead man was an 18-year-old from Kyrgyzstan. He was stabbed eight times by Ilya Shutko, 19, who was jailed for 10 years.
Human rights groups have documented increasing numbers of attacks on foreigners in Russia, especially in and around Moscow.
A group of skinheads were jailed for up to 20 years last year after killing 18 foreigners in Moscow in little more than a year.
Reuters: Russian tycoon bids for U.S. Nets basketball team
Wed Sep 23, 2009 10:15am IST
By Conor Sweeney
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's richest man, Mikhail Prokhorov, has made a takeover bid for major U.S. basketball team the New Jersey Nets, the tycoon confirmed on his blog on Tuesday.
Former nickel baron Prokhorov boasts that if his move is successful, it would be the first time a National Basketball Association (NBA) club comes under foreign control.
Prokhorov's proposals, sent to existing Nets shareholders at the weekend, would see his Onexim group provide a loan to build a substantial part of a new arena, according to a post on his website, md-prokhorov..
Onexim would also receive a controlling stake of the NBA team for a "symbolic" price, the post said. Sources close to the billionaire have previously estimated the overall value of any deal at $700 million.
"For our Onexim group the realisation of this very lucrative business project, whose participation was made possible by the world crisis (never in history have foreigners owned an NBA club), is another interesting sports development," Prokhorov wrote.
Nets and NBA officials declined to comment, but the team said last week that they have received interest from potential investors in the team.
NBA rules do not bar overseas ownership, and transfer of ownership requires background checks on a new owner as well as approval by 75 percent of the league's 30 owners.
Russian oligarchs splashed out on yachts, mansions and sports clubs as their investments rose with soaring commodity prices in recent years. In the highest-profile deal, Roman Abramovich bought London soccer club Chelsea in 2003.
While many of his Russian peers sought state bailouts, the 44-year-old Prokhorov, a former banker and mining executive, is flush with money after cashing out of assets in 2008 before the global crisis caused commodity prices to crash.
A former chief executive of the world's largest nickel firm Norilsk Nickel, Prokhorov has an estimated fortune of $9.5 billion, according to the latest Russian edition of Forbes magazine.
Developer Bruce Ratner owns the Nets, which Forbes magazine in December ranked as the 26th most valuable of the 30 NBA teams, with an estimated value of $295 million.
The club plans to move from New Jersey to a new arena in Brooklyn, in the neighbouring state of New York.
In addition, Ratner's company, Forest City Ratner, proposes constructing 16 office and apartment buildings, as well as upgrading subway, utility and other infrastructures as part of a larger project.
Legal disputes, financing problems and challenges from local community groups have dogged the project for years. In June, Ratner dropped architect Frank Gehry to cut costs, further irking critics as Gehry's design was a key factor in winning public support for the project in the first place.
Ratner has a year-end deadline to start building the arena or lose $700 million of tax-free financing that a state agency has said it plans to issue in the fourth quarter.
(Reporting by Conor Sweeney in Moscow, additional reporting by Ben Klayman in Chicago; editing by Robin Pomeroy and Justin Palmer)
The Bristol Bay Times: Russian group to Alaska Natives: Stop hunting polar bears
ALEX DEMARBAN
alex@
September 22, 2009 at 1:23PM AKST
The U.S. branch of the World Wildlife Fund wants its Russian counterpart to retract a demand that Alaska Natives stop killing polar bears.
The demand was made on the group’s Web site by Viktor Nikiforov, the group’s coordinator of special projects, said Margaret Williams, managing director of Alaska’s WWF office.
“That is not our position (in the U.S.),” she said, noting that the two WWF groups operate independently.
The Russian statement comes against the backdrop of the inaugural meeting of a Russian-U.S. commission, set to start Wednesday, to find ways to protect the polar bears that share the countries’ coasts.
Last year, polar bears in the U.S. were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. That’s one step short of the act’s endangered status for animals that might soon disappear from their natural habitat.
Despite the threatened listing, Alaska Natives can harvest polar bears for subsistence purposes under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The hunts aren’t regulated, but kills must be reported.
Statewide, Natives kill an average of about 50 polar bears annually, said Bruce Woods, a spokesman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Alaska Native hunters aren’t threatening polar bears, but climate change is because it’s melting their sea-ice habitat, said Williams.
The WWF U.S. supports subsistence hunts currently practiced by Natives, she said.
The U.S. group was not notified of the Russian group's statement, posted in Russian at wwf.ru, she said. Nor were Alaska Native hunters.
“What’s most important is to work with people who use the resource, and our style would not be to issue a blanket statement like that without local consultation,” she said. “That can do more damage than anything else."
Williams called the director of the Russian group, CEO Igor Chestin, on Tuesday immediately after learning about the demand, she said.
“I called to say this is a real mistake because we in the U.S. don’t have that point of view."
“They’re not retracting it, but they’re taking it off their Web site,” she said.
She pointed out that the WWF in both countries wants to protect the animals. Polar bear poaching is a problem in Russia, where hunting has been banned for half a century.
The amount of polar bear kills in Russia isn’t known because it’s illegal and not often documented, said Woods.
Hunts by Alaska Natives are sustainable, said Mike Pederson, subsistence research coordinator for the North Slope Borough.
For example, the amount of polar bear kills in the Barrow region always falls below a quota allowed under an international agreement between Canada and the U.S., he said.
The borough opposes any ban of polar bear hunting by Natives, he said.
“We disagree because we hunt bears up here for subsistence purposes, to put food on the table,” he said Some families eat it frequently, boiling it in stews or pan-frying steaks, he said.
It’s an acquired taste, and some, like himself, don’t eat it regularly.
The four-man commission meeting in Moscow from Sept. 23-25 includes two U.S. and two Russian representatives. Representing the U.S. are Charlie Johnson, head of the Alaska Nanuuq Commission, (nanuuq means polar bear in Inupiaq) and Geoff Haskett, regional director of the Fish and Wildlife Service in Alaska.
The group will discuss a variety of ideas, perhaps including allowing a sustainable Russian hunt for indigenous people from the Chukotka region, said Woods. “Or they could maintain zero take in Russia and pursue stronger enforcement,” Woods said.
The world population is estimated between 20,000 and 25,000 polar bears occupying 19 different groups, said Woods. The groups that are likely the most studied, the Western Hudson Bay and Southern Beaufort Sea, are considered to be declining due to loss of sea ice, he said.
Scientists once estimated the Chukchi Sea population — the group occupying Russian and U.S. coasts — at 2,000. These days, they’re not sure what the number is, he said. The estimated southern Beaufort Sea population — a group shared by the U.S. and Canada — is estimated at 1,500.
Alex DeMarban can be reached at 907-348-2444 or (800) 770-9830, ext. 444.
National Economic Trends
Bloomberg: Russia Forecasts 8.5% Contraction This Year, Growth in 2010
By Chris Kirkham
Sept. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Russia’s economy will return to growth in 2010 after contracting the most in a decade this year, the government estimates.
Gross domestic product will slump 8.5 percent this year, the administration said in a statement on its Web site today, reiterating a previous forecast. The economy will expand 1.6 percent next year, 3 percent in 2011 and 4.3 percent in 2012, according to the statement.
Output of the world’s biggest supplier of energy contracted a record 10.9 percent last quarter after the global recession eroded demand for raw materials from oil to metals. GDP last year grew at the slowest pace since 2002, expanding 5.6 percent compared with 8.1 percent in 2007. The government has deployed about 2.5 trillion rubles ($82 billion) in a stimulus program to battle the slump.
The 2010 budget will be based on a forecast oil price of $58 a barrel, rising to $59 a barrel in 2011 and $60 a barrel the following year, according to the statement.
The government said industrial output will slump 11.4 percent this year, real wages will fall 4.6 percent and real disposable income will drop 4.1 percent. That will hurt retail sales, which are expected to fall 6 percent in 2009, it said.
To contact the reporter responsible for this story: Chris Kirkham at ckirkham@
Last Updated: September 23, 2009 01:37 EDT
23.09.2009 - RIA NOVOSTI via Banki.ru
Cbonds: MED: Russian GDP remains unchanged in August
Russia’s gross domestic product (GDP) remained intact in August compared to July taking into account seasonality factors, deputy head of the Ministry for Economic Development Andrei Klepach told the media Tuesday. “GDP growth in August vs. July excluding seasonality factors was zero," he said.
Earlier Russian finance minister Alexei Kudrin said the country’s GDP grew 1.5% in August against July.
Reuters: UPDATE 1-Russia rouble gains, market on intervention watch
MOSCOW, Sept 23 (Reuters) - The Russian rouble strengthened beyond the psychological 30 mark versus the dollar on Wednesday for the first time since January, putting the market on alert for possible central bank intervention to slow down the rally.
Greater confidence that Russia will avoid a second wave of an economic and banking crisis, domestic liquidity constraints ahead of tax payments, strong oil prices and broad-based dollar weakness were all cited as reasons for rouble strength.
By 0604 GMT, the rouble had strengthened as far as 29.94 per dollar according to Reuters data, taking its gains since the start of the month to beyond 6 percent.
"Everyone is now looking at the central bank's policy -- possibly it will not allow the rouble to pass the psychological level of 30 (versus the dollar) for long," said Anton Tabakh, analyst at Troika Dialog.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said earlier this month that Russia will not allow excessive currency appreciation . Too strong a currency could hurt Russia's export-focused economy just as it is showing first signs of emerging from its first recession in a decade.
Versus the central bank monitored basket of 0.55 dollars and 0.45 euros, the rouble briefly firmed to 36.42.
That level was last seen in early June, around the time when the central bank was intervening with dollar purchases as part of its policy to avoid excessive exchange rate volatility.
"It (rouble strength) is fairly predictable. The dollar is losing positions on every front," said Alexey Borichev, trader at ING. "We expect that the central bank could come out around 36.40-36.35 levels."
Two other dealers also highlighted those levels as possible intervention triggers.
"Perhaps people have decided to test it," one of them said.
"Other emerging market currencies have really strengthened in the past month and we are now playing catch up," he added.
The rouble strength came as the dollar hit a one-year low versus an index of six major currencies on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Toni Vorobyova and Andrei Ostroukh, editing by Dmitry Sergeyev and Andy Bruce) Keywords: RUSSIA ROUBLE/ (antonina.vorobyova@; Tel: +7495 7751242, Reuters Messaging: antonina.vorobyova.@)
SEPTEMBER 23, 2009, 4:10 A.M. ET
WSJ: Ruble Hits 9-Mo High Vs Dollar As Investors Eye Carry Trad
By Andrew Langley
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
MOSCOW (Dow Jones)--The ruble hit a nine-month high against the U.S. dollar Wednesday as investors who had almost written off the Russian currency at the start of the year increasingly target carry trades in developing-world assets.
The ruble advanced through the psychologically-important RUB30-level to the dollar for the first time since January, amid ongoing weakness in the greenback, firm oil prices and Russia's nascent economic revival, which is luring cash into its securities markets.
"Investors are bullish on oil prices reaching $80 a barrel and are buying Russian stocks and bonds," said one Moscow-based currency trader, who expected the authorities to cap a move much beyond RUB30 in order to prevent ruble strength from undermining economic recovery.
The ruble's appreciation marks a major turnaround from January, when the central bank completed a two-month devaluation of the Russian currency after commodity prices plunged and the country slipped into its first recession in a decade.
Renaissance Capital said large Russian banks remain the most active buyers of domestic debt, but that activity from overseas is picking up as confidence in the global economic recovery grows.
"The domestic debt market is becoming increasingly popular among foreign investors as it provides opportunities for carry trade, with investors able to borrow funds in foreign currency at low rates and invest them into segments with high rates [like the] Brazilian real, South African rand or Russian ruble," said Renaissance Capital in a research note.
Central bank Web site: cbr.ru
-By Andrew Langley, Dow Jones Newswires; +7 495 937 8445; andrew.langley@
23.09.2009 - PRIME-TASS via Banki.ru
Cbonds: Shuvalov: Russian government should think out ways of making the ruble a regional reserve currency
The Russian government should think out options how to make the ruble a regional reserve currency. Generally, the government wants to see more international currencies, first vice PM Igor Shuvalov said in an exclusive interview with RT.
He thinks “the dollar is still a strong and reliable currency that will retain the status of the international reserve currency in the long term. However, to ensure prosperous future of the country more stable international currencies are needed, as “this is impossible to depend on one currency at all times”. “If we take a look at Russia’s huge reserves (over $411 bln), we see that the bulk of the reserves is dominated in dollars," Shuvalov pointed out adding if the state’s policy aims to preserve some reserves for public needs, it is necessary to keep money in the safest manner, and this means a wide array of reliable currencies.
According to Shuvalov, the discussion of the new structure of international organizations, such as the IMF, the World Bank, etc., got under way in London. “Currently we’re waiting for a report from the British government on the new role of the IMF and other organizations. And we hope they’ll understand that we need a structure making it possible to devote more attention to developing countries that are in the difficult condition. The more national leaders attend a summit, the closer we’ll be to the achievement of final results”.
The first vice PM noted that in Russia “at this stage we’re seeing robust expansion of the economy. We’ve obtained positive economic data for the third month in a row. The Russian economy expanded 1% in June and 0.5% in July. August saw much stronger expansion. We are confident the worst is already over”. “However, this does not mean we need to fold our hands and just wait when better times come with changes in the global economy and when demand for Russian products rises," Shuvalov noted. He went on to say that if anything happens to the banking sector again, if the portfolio of bad debts begins to grow, the government will immediately react by boosting capitals of banks and offering cash injections from the government. There is no other way out, since if a problem of the global nature arises in the world again, it will affect Russia without doubt, he said.
In response to the question about the US government’s several cash injections into the economy during the crisis, Shuvalov noted that “people are dissatisfied that the state provides liquidity and that because of this inflation is accelerating in many countries, including the United States. However, in reality the economy began to grow”. Also, according to him, global economic growth stems from the recovery of the US and Chinese economies which is noticeable at the moment.
Shuvalov does not think the crisis has made any changes on who plays a leading role in the global economy. Leaders are the same countries as before. The United States is a country with the most powerful economy in the world and China is also a strong economy. “I believe that during the next decade the role of BRIC nations will be different, as Russia, Brazil, India and China will jointly form the future of the global economy," he noted.
AFP: Russia to relaunch privatization drive
BY AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE
Updated 16 minutes ago
MOSCOW, Sept 23 - Russia is to embark on a new programme of privatization, two-and-a-half years after its last major sale of state assets, officials were quoted as saying on Wednesday.
After the chaotic asset sales of the 1990s under the Boris Yeltsin presidency created a class of super-rich oligarchs and a major public backlash, the government has lately preferred to increase its stakes in firms.
But the financial crisis has blown a major whole in the Russian budget, with the budget deficit predicted to be around 8.0 percent of GDP in 2009 and reduced only slightly to 6.9 percent in 2010.
Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin told the Vedomosti financial daily that with the income from privatization Russia could reduce its use of reserve funds and cut the volume of planned bond issues needed to make up the budget shortfall.
"In other words the sum (from privatization) will go to reducing the deficit," he added.
But Vedomosti quoted government sources as saying that a new privatization drive would be aimed as much at improving the image of Russia, which is still criticized by the West for having excessive state control of the economy.
"It's clear that for the most part we are not talking about additional budget income -- now is not the best economic time for sales -- but about image, to show the world the liberalism of the government," a source said.
First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, a key ally of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, told Bloomberg TV in an interview that "now is the time that we can return" to privatization.
He said that the government had "good assets" to offer.
Russia's last major asset sale was the May 2007 privatization of 22.5 percent of its second largest bank, state-owned VTB, which raised eight billion dollars.
Russia in July 2006 sold 15 percent in state-owned oil giant Rosneft which raised 10.4 billion dollars for the state coffers.
09/23/2009 10:18
Agrimarket: Russia decreased agricultural production by 3.7%
According to estimations, in August 2009, the agricultural production volumes of all agricultural producers of the Russian Federation (agricultural organizations, farming economies, population) totaled 381.8 bln RUR in the current prices, during January-August of 2009 – 1300.9 bln RUR, down 3.7% compared to the same period of the previous year, informed the Federal service of state statistics (Rosstat).
As of September 1, 2009, all varieties of agricultural economies (agricultural organizations, farming economies, population) produced 64.2 mln tonnes of grains in bunker weight, a decrease of 21.7% compared to the same date of the previous year.
Agricultural organizations, occupying over 75% of grain agricultural lands, harvested grains throughout 53% of the sowing areas as opposed to 65.4% on the same date of the previous year. Taking into account losses of the sowing areas and usage for feed aims, agrarians still had to harvest 13.9 mln ha of grains (without maize), or 40.2% of the sowing areas.
Agrimarket: Domestic and external demand to condition grain production in Russia
09/23/2009 11:17
The guaranteed domestic and external demand should condition grain production in Russia, declared Elena Skrynnik, the Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation.
Realizing of the task will provide the stable satisfaction of the domestic grain requirements, increase the export volumes, rise the life quality in the rural area and provide the possibility of the effective usage of lands of agricultural direction, marked the Minister.
According to E.Skrynnik, the effective agrarian economy is the essential factor of the growth of incomes of the government. That is why, Russia should develop the domestic agriculture on the modern innovative basis, added she.
According to E.Skrynnik, to date the agro industrial complex provides the growth of production volumes despite the crisis terms. During the first half year of 2009, the growth totaled 1%.
Business, Energy or Environmental regulations or discussions
Bloomberg: Hyundai Steel to Buy Coal From Siberian Anthracite (Update1)
By Shinhye Kang
Sept. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Hyundai Steel Co., South Korea’s second-largest steelmaker, signed a contract to buy coal from Russia’s Siberian Anthracite to diversify its sources of supply.
Hyundai will receive as much as 300,000 metric tons of coal a year for five years starting 2010, the Seoul-based company said in an e-mailed statement today.
The unit of Hyundai Motor Group plans to build two blast furnaces at a combined cost of 5.24 trillion won ($4.4 billion) to ensure stable steel supplies for the automaker. The first furnace will start operation in January next year.
Hyundai Steel dropped 0.9 percent to 84,900 won as of 10:40 a.m. local time in Seoul trading, compared with a 0.1 percent drop in the benchmark Kospi index. Shares of Hyundai Steel more than doubled this year.
To contact the reporter on this story: Shinhye Kang in Seoul at skang24@.
Last Updated: September 22, 2009 21:50 EDT
Rus Business News: ING Group Winding Down Insurance Business In Russia
21.09.2009 — News
ING Group that has worked in Russia since 1994 is suspending the ING Life Insurance Project. Currently the company is closing its offices in 11 Russian cities.
Regional offices of the insurer have been opened in Tyumen, Ekaterinburg, Ufa, Perm. Kazan, Volgograd, Rostov-on Don, Krasnodar, Nizhniy Novgorod, and Samara in 2008-2009. In Ekaterinburg the ING Life Insurance office has been established in the end of august of 2009. The insurer planned to take 9% of the regional market.
ING Life Insurance has stopped selling policies on 17 September 2009. Jetse de Vries, the Managing Director of ING Life Insurance told RusBusinessNews that the establishment of a strong distribution channel using own agent network in Russia turned out a more difficult task than it was considered initially. ING Life Insurance Russia will continue to honour its obligations to the existing clients and provide information on the future moves.
The company has managed to employ 300 agents and 85 salaried staff by September. Around 50 million Euro has been spent on the development of the network. Earlier ING in Russia sold its nongovernmental pension fund to the British Aviva, a company currently growing its presence in the Russian insurance market.
Steel Guru: New steel plant to be built in Russia Volgograd region
Wednesday, 23 Sep 2009
Steel Orbis reported that the project for the construction of a new electrometallurgical plant for the production of long steel products in the town of Surovikino in Russia Volgograd region was agreed at the VIII International Investment Forum Sochi 2009 held on September 17th to 20th in the southern Russian city of Sochi.
The construction of the new plant which will have an annual capacity of 120,000 tonnes of finished products per year is planned to be started in 2010 and is aimed at ensuring quick deliveries in Volgograd and adjacent regions of rebar, hardware, mesh and other types of steel products necessary for the construction sector.
Surovikino was chosen as the location of the electrometallurgical plant due to the presence of the necessary raw material and due to convenience of transportation and infrastructure.
As SteelOrbis previously reported, the project for the construction of the plant was presented at the forum by the Russian company TESO Engineering, specialized in the modernization and construction of steel producing facilities. New innovative technologies are to be applied during the implementation of the project which is to cost about RUB 1 billion.
(Sourced from SteelOrbis)
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Bloomberg: Sovcomflot First-Half Net Tumbles 65% to $116.8 Million
By Paul Abelsky
Sept. 23 (Bloomberg) -- OAO Sovcomflot said first-half net income plunged 65 percent to $116.8 million, according to a statement on the Russian shipper’s Web site.
To contact the reporter on this story: Paul Abelsky in Moscow at pabelsky@
Last Updated: September 23, 2009 03:28 EDT
Rus Business News: Amazonia Will Open Its Depths To Urals People
22.09.2009 — Analysis
The Sverdlovsk Oblast might supplement the list of its Latin American partners. The Governor of the Brazilian state Amazonas Eduardo Braga visited Ekaterinburg on 20-21 September 2009. His visit is a logical step on the way of development of Russian-Brazilian relations. Having met in Ekaterinburg in June 2009 Presidents Dmitri Medvedev and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva came to an agreement on the development of cooperation on regional level. It is worth mentioning that Brazil is 66th in the list of the Sverdlovsk Oblast's trade partners. The trade turnover in 2008 amounted to 6.1 million US dollars. The friendship with Amazonas, the largest Brazilian state, might change these figures somewhat. Governor Braga talked about the immediate prospects for the cooperation in an interview with RusBusinessNews.
- Mr. Braga, what caused this interest to the Sverdlovsk Oblast?
- Inácio Lula da Silva, the President of Brazil has visited Ekaterinburg several times. He was well impressed by the industrial and technological development of the region, especially in the sphere of metallurgy.
- How do you assess the investment attractiveness of the Sverdlovsk Oblast?
- I reckon there are great prospects for the development of our cooperation in the sphere of tourism. The state of Amazonas has a zone of free trade which may become the "open gateway" to the South American market. We must not forget about the natural riches of Amazonas. Many of these have been explored but the production has not started yet. This is where the applicable technologies of Russian and in particular - Sverdlovsk companies may help us.
Of course, this visit was designed more for a long term future. As the cooperation between Russia and Brazil develops the state of Amazon and the Sverdlovsk Oblast will also be on convergent paths.
- This has been a familiarisation visit, what is next? Should we expect a delegation exchange?
- These trips will definitely happen, both ways. Brazil and Russia are growing markets. Both Brazil and Russia, and Amazonas and the Sverdlovsk Oblast are undertaking new marketing efforts for the broadening of their connections. This is why cooperation, exchange, and interaction will be continued. On the whole our countries are cooperating quite closely. I think that the relationship between Russia and Brazil are developing successfully, especially in the technology sector.
- Within the framework of meetings held in Ekaterinburg it was stressed several times that the state of Amazonas and the Sverdlovsk Oblast are rather alike. Is your personal perception in agreement with this observation?
- It is true, Amazonas is very much like the Sverdlovsk Oblast. It also is a large territory (the area of Amazonas is about 1.5 million square kilometres, the area of the Sverdlovsk Oblast - 194.8 thousand square kilometres), each of the region's population is about 4 million people. Both Amazonas and the Sverdlovsk Oblast have immense mineral wealth and a well developed industry.
- Mr. Braga, this is your first time in Russia, what surprised you the most?
- I was amazed by people's security, their faith in a good future, their hopes and desires to develop the cooperation with Brazil and other foreign countries. Within this visit we met with various leaders and officials in Ekaterinburg and Moscow. In Saint Petersburg we are going to take part in a conference on the development of tourism where I will be presenting the state of Amazonas. Everywhere we feel a great empathy between people and between peoples of Russia and Brazil.
Interview prepared by Valentina Mazharova
Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)
Upstreamonline: Russia may sell stake in Rosneft
Wire services
The Russian government may sell part of its 75% stake in state-controlled Rosneft at some point in the future, newspapers quoted First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov as saying today.
But the privatisation of Rosneft, Russia's largest oil producer, is not under consideration at the moment, an official at Shuvalov's secretariat told Kommersant business daily.
Russia could sell up to 25% of Rosneft without any serious consequences, as it would still retain a controlling stake, Andrei Sharonov, a former deputy economy minister, told Vedomosti business daily.
Shares in Rosneft gained 1.43% in trading yesterday, bringing the company's market capitalisation to $77.7 billion, reported Reuters.
Russia intends launching a new privatisation programme as it moves out of its worst economic crisis since the mid-1990s, Shuvalov said last week
The government expects to earn 7 billion roubles ($230.5 million) from its privatisation programme in 2010, according to budget projections for next year.
Wednesday, 23 September, 2009, 05:20 GMT | last updated: Wednesday, 23 September, 2009, 05:20 GMT
Reuters: Russia may sell partial stake in Rosneft –papers
Wed Sep 23, 2009 10:20am IST
MOSCOW, Sept 23 (Reuters) - The Russian government may sell part of its 75 percent stake in state-controlled Rosneft (ROSN.MM: Quote, Profile, Research) at some point in the future, newspapers quoted First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov as saying on Wednesday.
But the privatisation of Rosneft, Russia's largest oil producer, is not under consideration at the moment, an official at Shuvalov's secretariat told Kommersant business daily.
Russia could sell up to 25 percent of Rosneft without any serious consequences, as it would still retain a controlling stake, Andrei Sharonov, a former deputy economy minister, told Vedomosti business daily.
Shares in Rosneft gained 1.43 percent on Tuesday trading, bringing the company's market capitalisation to $77.7 billion.
Russia intends launching a new privatisation programme as it moves out of its worst economic crisis since the mid-1990s, Shuvalov said last week [ID:nLG21592]
The government expects to earn 7 billion roubles ($230.5 million) from its privatisation programme in 2010, according to budget projections for next year.
(Reporting by Dmitry Sergeyev; Editing by Valerie Lee)
SEPTEMBER 23, 2009
WSJ: Moscow to Welcome Bids on Major Natural-Gas Field
By GUY CHAZAN
Russia will put out the welcome mat for Big Oil this week, as Prime Minister Vladimir Putin hosts a meeting on developing the huge natural-gas reserves of Yamal, one of the energy world's last great prizes. But it is unclear whether any of the world's leading oil companies will be interested in the tough terms Russia is expected to demand.
The meeting is the latest in a series of signals from the Kremlin that Russia might be softening its Draconian stance on foreign investment in its oil and natural gas. Moscow has long insisted that Yamal was off-limits to Western majors, and that Russian giant OAO Gazprom would develop the region's resources on its own.
Buoyed by rising oil prices, Moscow spent 10 years cementing its control of Russia's natural-resources sector, squeezing foreigners out and grooming state-run giants like Gazprom and OAO Rosneft as national champions.
But the mood changed when oil prices slumped late last year, Russia entered its first recession in a decade, and funds dried up. "There's a realization that they need the majors' financial and technical capabilities," said one Western oil executive.
The guest list at Thursday's meeting, in the far northern Russian town of Salekhard, reads like a roll call of the super-majors. Senior executives from Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Total SA, StatoilHydro ASA and E.On AG, among others, will be in attendance, according to the companies.
But industry officials say terms on offer for entering Yamal are expected to be highly unattractive to the majors. It is thought Gazprom will retain full ownership of the peninsula's fields and allow foreign companies in only on technical service contracts. That would echo the terms offered to Total and StatoilHydro in Shtokman, another Russian gas field in the Barents Sea.
"If it's like Shtokman, then some of the big U.S. guys are likely to say 'no thanks,' " said a Western industry executive.
Others, however, say the meeting reflects a subtle shift in Russian energy policy that could have far-reaching consequences.
"The tone has changed," said Ed Verona, head of the U.S.-Russia Business Council and a former Russia-based Exxon Mobil executive. "There is clearly less of the strident nationalist rhetoric and a lot more talk about cooperation -- which makes sense if you think about what happened to the Russian economy over the last year."
Some top officials recognize that the country will struggle to develop its oil and gas reserves without Western help. Many untapped fields are in remote areas such as the Arctic, Eastern Siberia and the Barents Sea, and Russian companies lack the experience and funds to develop them.
uri Trutnev, Russia's natural-resources minister, last week proposed easing laws restricting foreign participation in offshore energy projects and said Gazprom and Rosneft, now the only companies that can bid on tenders for offshore exploration licenses, should form consortia with foreign companies to work on Russia's continental shelf. Neither Gazprom nor Rosneft has much experience producing oil or gas offshore.
Also last week, Arkady Dvorkovich, economic adviser to President Dmitry Medvedev, said laws introduced last year to restrict foreigners' access to oil and gas fields considered strategic have proved too tough and may be modified. One law requires foreign companies to seek permission from a government committee before they can acquire more than 10% of the equity in a company exploring a field considered strategic.
Yamal -- which means "End of the World" in the local Nenets language -- is central to the debate on the future of energy policy. The peninsula, in the far north of Russia, is thought to contain at least 12 trillion cubic meters of natural gas -- enough to satisfy Europe's needs for 25 years. Gazprom, whose mature Soviet-era fields are in decline, sees Yamal as a priority.
Yet the challenges are enormous. Yamal is a region of sand and permafrost: The absence of rocky soil makes any heavy construction difficult. Development of the region's gas will cost $100 billion, and if gas prices stay at their current low levels, it could be uneconomic.
—Gregory L. White contributed to this article.
Write to Guy Chazan at guy.chazan@
Pipelines International: Bulgaria, Russia to form South Stream working groups
Wed, September 23, 2009
The Bulgarian and Russian governments have agreed to create joint working groups to prepare technological and financial feasibility studies for the 900 km South Stream Natural Gas Pipeline.
One working group will be dedicated to preparing guidelines for a tender to conduct the pipeline’s feasibility study, while the other group will work on the shareholders’ agreement terms to be adopted by the corporation that will be created to run the pipeline.
The pipeline will run from Russia, under the Black Sea to the Bulgarian coast, where it will then split into two branches. The south branch will run through Bulgaria and Greece, and then a subsea portion will reach Italy. The second branch will divert northwards through Serbia and Hungary to Austria. In June, the proposed pipeline’s capacity was increased from 31 Bcm/a of gas to to 63 Bcm/a.
The Bulgarian Government also said it will give priority to the 3,300 km Nabucco Gas Pipeline, which has already received European Union approval, but local news sources have said that Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko said that Russia needed to clarify that the Nabucco and South Stream pipeline projects were not in competition with each other on Bulgarian territory.
“We are participating in both of them on an equal footing. The benefit for us is that the Russian gas is transited to the Bulgarian border and many of our neighbours join this project,” Mr Borissov said.
Pipelines International: Nord Stream fishes for agreements
Wed, September 23, 2009
Nord Stream AG has finalised agreements with German, Finnish, Swedish, Danish and Russian fishery associations on compensation and mitigation measures to be undertaken during the construction and operation of the twin 1,220 km Nord Stream natural gas pipelines.
The joint venture – consisting of Gazprom, BASF/Wintershall Holding AG, E.ON Ruhrgas AG and NV Nederlandse Gasunie – assessed the possible impact on fishing activities as the planned pipelines were expected to cross fishing grounds in the Baltic Sea, particularly those close to Bornholm, Denmark. Nord Stream’s studies had concluded that there would be some minor local impacts.
Nord Stream has agreed to compensation due to fishing restrictions that will occur during the construction of the two pipelines, with fishermen in the region asked to modify their trawling patterns and fishing techniques in certain areas.
The two parallel pipelines will transport natural gas from Russia to European Union countries. The first pipeline will be operational by 2011, and is expected to have a capacity of approximately 27.5 Bcm/a.
The second pipeline will go online during the second phase of the project, with full capacity expected to reach 55 Bcm/a.
Pipelines International: PetroNeft raises pipeline capital
Wed, September 23, 2009
PetroNeft Resources has raised $US27.5 million from its international investors to fund pipeline and infrastructure work on an oil field located in Licence 61 in the Tomsk Oblast region of Russia.
The company plans to construct a 70 km pipeline and associated field structure in the first phase of the development, which will run from the oil field to the Imperial Energy facilities, located at the Kiev-Eganskoye oil field.
PetroNeft has already acquired more than 90 per cent of the pipe it requires for construction. The pipe has been stored at a river port located north of Licence 61. Construction of the pipeline is scheduled to commence from the end of 2009 to early 2010.
PetroNeft plans to commence oil production in the third quarter of 2010, initially targeting approximately 4,000 bbl/d of oil. Peak production from the first phase of the development is expected to reach 12,000 bbl/d of oil by 2012, according to local news sources.
Bloomberg: Total May Get Russian Bids for European Refineries, Chief Says
By Tara Patel and Margaret Brennan
Sept. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Total SA, the French oil refiner seeking to reduce surplus capacity, said Russian companies may bid for European plants as they pursue expansion abroad.
“They have a market to develop in Europe and may be interested to buy when we are interested to sell,” Chief Executive Officer Christophe de Margerie said today in a Bloomberg Television interview in New York. “We could do win- win deals with companies like Russians.”
Total has said it may sell refining assets to save costs as global overcapacity grows to an estimated 9 million barrels a day this year, almost twice the level in 2007. The Paris-based company, which is expanding in the Middle East and studying projects in Asia, is under pressure from the French government and unions to keep jobs at home, where it has six refineries.
“Integrated companies not present in Europe with access to crude may want to be part of this network where we consider we’ve been present for too long,” de Margerie said. “I can’t say it’s a huge bullish market but yes, we find buyers,” he said, citing Total’s sale of a 45 percent stake in its Vlissingen refinery to Russia’s OAO Lukoil in June. The stake in the 190,000-barrel-a-day Dutch plant sold for $725 million.
Total, Europe’s biggest oil refiner, agreed to the deal after exercising pre-emption rights over shares previously offered for sale by Dow Chemical Co. to Valero Energy Corp.
Access to Europe
Valero, the largest U.S. refiner, said in May it had been seeking to enter the European market for “quite some time” to take advantage of an expected recovery in fuel demand as the continent emerges from a recession. Lukoil said the acquisition would fit with its strategy of boosting refining capacity to process its own crude.
Total temporarily halted output at its Flanders refinery in northern France last week because of weak demand for oil products in northwestern Europe. The company has also stopped a crude-distillation unit at its Normandy refinery, where it plans to raise diesel production and reduce gasoline output under a nationwide restructuring plan announced in March. Some 555 refining and petrochemical jobs will be cut under the plan.
In a list of 61 European refineries, four of Total’s plants rank in the top 25 percent in terms of efficiency. Three are in the second quartile and rest are in the bottom half, the company said in a presentation to analysts last week. Total still has “less sophisticated refineries” in its portfolio, the company said, without specifying sites.
Rome Plant Sale
Total’s Leuna plant in Germany isn’t among refineries up for potential sale, de Margerie said Sept. 16. The French refiner may consider selling its stake in a plant in Rome, co- owned with ERG SpA, Total’s Head of Refining and Marketing Michel Benezit said May 19.
Total workers in France have threatened strikes to protest the possible sale of plants, accusing the company of wanting to “sacrifice” European refining capacity to expand in Asia and the Middle East.
“It’s my responsibility to prepare things, not wait to be faced with strong real concerns and be forced to adapt ourselves without getting the time to prepare,” de Margerie said today. “We are part of a global system. We’re not talking about closing refineries. We’re talking about selling.”
The European refining market is “certainly not an area of growth,” he said. “We have to adapt our system to new demand.”
Total is developing a 400,000-barrel-a-day plant in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, and has said it’s interested in having a stake in a second refinery in China. The company pulled a team in India that had been studying a possible refinery project there.
Margins Narrow
Refiners in Europe have idled plants, sought to sell others and slowed operating rates as the recession curbs demand for fuels, dragging down prices and squeezing profit margins for producers. Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europe’s biggest oil company, said last week it would continue to cut costs at its downstream business, citing “significant pressure” on margins.
Shell said last month it may sell the U.K. Stanlow refinery. The company is also looking to sell its Heide and Hamburg refineries in Germany as well as Canada’s Montreal East plant.
Eni SpA, Italy’s biggest energy company, plans talks with unions to discuss the future of its Livorno refinery, which was shut down last week because of labor protests against its closure if sold.
To contact the reporters on this story: Tara Patel in Paris at tpatel2@; Margaret Brennan in New York at mbrennan25@.
Last Updated: September 22, 2009 11:48 EDT
Reuters: UPDATE 1-Russia Novatek board approves 30 bln rbl bond issue
Tue Sep 22, 2009 10:26am EDT
* To be split into four series
* Issue aimed for general corporate purposes
(Adds details, quotes)
MOSCOW, Sept 22 (Reuters) - The board of Novatek (NVTK.MM: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Russia's second-largest gas producer, has approved a bond issue worth 30 billion roubles to raise finance for general corporate purposes, the company said on Tuesday.
Novatek said the issue would be divided into four series, with two having a value of 10 billion roubles and two having a value of 5 billion roubles each.
The series has a three-year maturity period and will pay semi-annual coupons or a total of six coupon payments.
"We will continue to diversify our sources of funding and extend our credit maturity profile to better match our capital development programme," Novatek Chief Financial Officer Mark Gyetvay said in a statement.
The organisers of the bond issuance are Troika Dialog brokerage and Gazprombank. The Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MICEX) has been selected for placement of the bonds after the registration of the prospectus, Novatek said. (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by David Cowell)
Gazprom
Steel Guru: Russia and Gazprom in talks on purchase of Kovykta stake
Wednesday, 23 Sep 2009
Interfax cited Mr Mikhail Fridman TNK BP co owner as saying that Russian government and Gazprom are currently discussing the purchase of a stake in RUSIA Petroleum which owns the giant Kovykta gas condensate field.
He said that "We intend to sell this stake. It's not crucial for us who the buyer is Gazprom or the government."
Gazprom, BP and TNK-BP agreed two years ago on the sale of a controlling stock interest in the Kovykta gas condensate field to Gazprom, however talks on the details of the transaction reached a deadlock. The talks were further complicated by a dispute among TNK-BP shareholders, and then Gazprom put its interest in the asset on the back burner during the peak of the crisis.
Subsurface management agency Rosnedra considered revoking the license for Kovykta field from RUSIA Petroleum two years ago due to violations in the schedule of the field's launch and insufficient production levels. Under the license terms for the field, RUSIA Petroleum was to produce and supply at least 9 billion cubic meters of gas for the needs of the Irkutsk region. The company said that, while the region does not consume this much gas, it was prepared to begin producing and supplying gas.
The Kovykta field has C1+C2 reserves of 2 trillion cubic meters of gas.
(Sourced from Interfax)
Bloomberg: Enel May Sell Stake in Russian Gas Unit to Gazprom Within Weeks
By Anna Shiryaevskaya
Sept. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Enel SpA will complete the sale of a stake in SeverEnergia, a natural gas explorer in Siberia, to OAO Gazprom “in the next few weeks,” Carlo Tamburi, the Italian company’s head of international operations, said.
Gazprom will hold 51 percent as Enel’s stake is cut to 19.6 percent from 40 percent and partner Eni SpA’s holding is reduced to 29.4 percent from 60 percent, according to agreements made this year. Gazprom, the world’s biggest gas producer, will pay $1.5 billion to gain control. The terms are unchanged, Tamburi told reporters in Moscow today. Gazprom declined to comment.
Eni and Enel in 2007 won an auction for Siberian gas fields, following the bankruptcy of OAO Yukos Oil Co. Gazprom had an option to buy 51 percent of the gas venture. The three will together explore for gas in western Siberia and have a target of starting production by June 2011. They expect output to reach at least 150,000 barrels a day within two years of starting production.
Enel, Italy’s biggest utility, has invested 2.5 billion euros ($3.7 billion) in Russia, where it also controls the OAO OGK-5 power generating company, Tamburi said. It has no plans to make acquisitions in Russia “for the time being,” he said.
The company is on schedule to “finalize” two Russian gas- fired power plants under construction by the end of 2010, he added.
To contact the reporter on this story: Anna Shiryaevskaya in Moscow at ashiryaevska@
Last Updated: September 22, 2009 10:07 EDT
American Chronicle: LG Brought in By Gazprom for Advice on Shtokman
LG has won a major instruction advising Gazprom on the development of the multibillion- pound Shtokman project - the vast offshore gas field belonging to Russia.
The firm's fledgling Moscow office, which opened in March following a merger with local firm Aurora (, 26 March), helped clinch the key mandate.
Moscow-based oil and gas partners Alexander Bondarenko and Ilya Dukhovich are part of a team that was engaged following a tender process comprising around half-a-dozen firms.
London is also closely involved, given that much of the project documentation is governed by English law.
London-based finance partner Richard Elphick, who is working alongside corporate partner Geoff Gouriet, said: "[We're advising] GDS Gazprom as the licence-holder and owner of the hydrocarbons. It's an important part of the Gazprom group for this project, advising on most, if not all, aspects."
This is the first time the London office has been instructed by Gazprom or its subsidiaries, although the Moscow partners have worked for the company previously, according to Elphick.
Shtokman was discovered in the 1980s. The field's gas reserves, which are estimated to be almost four trillion cubic metres, remain as yet untapped.
This is a significant win in the oil and gas sector for the mid- market firm and follows LG's role advising Russian oil company Lukoil on its overseas business.
Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors
Bdonline: Major boost for RMJM's Gazprom tower
22 September, 2009
By Ruth Bloomfield
RMJM’s proposals for Europe’s tallest skyscraper have received a major boost after authorities in St Petersburg agreed to waive planning rules banning buildings taller than 100 metres in the city.
The 400m-high Gazprom tower, which is funded by the Russian gas exporter OAO Gazprom, has been opposed by residents and Unesco.
But St Petersburg’s governor, Valentina Matviyenko, has waived the city’s zoning laws, paving the way for the tower to be built.
Unesco has warned it will strip St Petersburg of its World Heritage Site status if the tower, officially named the Okhta Centre, is built.
“This is a monstrous, barbaric decision,” David Sarkisyan, director of the Moscow Museum of Architecture told Bloomberg News. “This tower is a symbol of political ego and people will always resent it.”
BD reported earlier this month that a public meeting on the proposals had descended into violence as protesters grappled with security guards.
The tower, which is to be the headquarters for Gazprom and will include a concert hall, museum, hotel and business centre, has attracted controversy since RMJM won the commission in 2006. It beat Jean Nouvel, Massimiliano Fuksas, Rem Koolhaas and Daniel Libeksind in an international competition after three of the judges, including Norman Foster and Rafael Viñoly, walked out.
Architects Journal: Controversial Gazprom tower gets green light
22 September, 2009 | By Andrea Klettner
Oil giant Gazprom has won planning approval from the city of St Petersburg to build the RMJM-designed, 394m-high tower.
The building, known as the Okhta Center, may become the tallest in Europe and is expected to house the headquarters of Gazprom Neft, a Gazprom subsidiary.
The project has faced severe criticism from local residents. In September, protestors clashed with police and Gazprom security guards during a public hearing over the plans, and in January last year ‘two activists’ were arrested after 300 protestors started a rally on the site earmarked for the tower.
Meanwhile, the United Nations’ heritage body UNESCO has threatened to remove the city from the world heritage list if the project goes ahead.
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