Russ Oil-Gas

MOSCOW, November 28 (RIA Novosti) - Gazprom [RTS: GAZP] and Rosneft [RTS: ROSN] signed Tuesday a parity deal on strategic oil and gas cooperation, valid until 2015. "In line with agreements reached, Rosneft and Gazprom will develop cooperation in prospecting, producing, transporting and processing crude hydrocarbon resources, and purchasing and selling natural and associated gas," the Russian natural gas monopoly and state-controlled oil company said in a joint press release. The sides plan to jointly participate in tenders and auctions to receive rights for mineral resource extraction, and to implement joint projects. The two companies will coordinate activities and exchange information while carrying out exploration and prospecting work and compiling geological and geophysical databases. Gazprom and Rosneft are also ready to cooperate in implementing projects to set up gas processing facilities in East Siberia and Russia's Far East. In line with the agreement, Gazprom will buy from Rosneft gas extracted from West Siberian deposits that are connected to the gas transportation system. A task force will soon be set up to consider joint implementation of projects with high potential in Russia and abroad.

MOSCOW, November 22 (RIA Novosti) - Gazprom [RTS: GAZP], Russia's energy giant, said Wednesday it intended to reduce natural gas exports to Azerbaijan in 2007 by 66.7%, to 1.5 billion cubic meters, against 4.5 billion cubic meters in 2006. "Gazprom intends to reduce next year the volume of natural gas deliveries to Azerbaijan to 1.5 billion cubic meters," Sergei Kupriyanov, a spokesman for Gazprom, said. "This volume will fully meet Azerbaijan's demand for imported natural gas, taking into account the price increase for Russian natural gas imports and the natural gas production increase in Azerbaijan," he said. Azerbaijan has been in talks on deliveries of natural gas to Georgia, which last week rejected purchases of Russian gas due to the price increase. "Azerbaijan is preparing to export its own natural gas," Kupriyanov said. "We are not against competition, but it is not expedient for Gazprom to support it [the competition] at the expense of its own resources." According to agreements between Georgia and Gazprom, the gas price in 2006 was $110 per 1,000 cubic meters. Gazprom recently suggested that Georgia pay $230 per 1,000 cubic meters of Russian natural gas as of 2007. The Georgian leader said the price hike for Russian natural gas was politically motivated and that the move amounts to an economic blockade of Georgia, which now buys all of its gas from Gazprom. A Georgian energy official said November 2 that his country is in talks with a consortium that is developing a gas field in Azerbaijan to ensure alternative gas deliveries, and that buying gas from Iran and Azerbaijan is being considered.

HELSINKI, November 24 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's president said Friday energy giant Gazprom and other state monopolies will not be separated into smaller companies. Vladimir Putin, speaking after a meeting with European Union Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso at the Russia-EU summit in Helsinki, said: "As long as there remains a disparity in energy prices on the Russian and world markets, we will preserve the integrity of such companies as Gazprom," In early 2007, the EU is set to announce measures to make energy companies' operations more competitive, and to weaken the dominant positions of monopolies, proposals which have met with criticism from Gazprom, the EU's largest natural gas supplier. Putin said that under an agreement with the EU, Russia will be gradually harmonizing "world and domestic price indicators - not prices themselves, but pricing formulas." Russia's domestic natural gas price of $46 per 1,000 cubic meters is several times lower than the average level of its gas exports to the European Union, of $230 per 1,000 cubic meters. Putin said any changes to Gazprom's organizational structure are a matter for Russia alone to decide. "Matters concerning the reorganization of our companies fall within the exclusive remit of the Russian Federation. No one can decide this for us, but we will act in close cooperation with our partners," he said. The European Union has been trying to persuade Russia, to sign the Energy Charter Treaty, which would force the country to liberalize its oil and gas sector. Russia opposes the idea, saying that some of the document's provisions - such as opening access for European companies to its pipelines - run counter to its interests.

Nov. 23, 2006 - Kommersant by Natalia Skorlygina, Denis Rebrov - Alexander Dyukov, until recently president of SIBUR, became acting president of Gazprom Neft yesterday. The company's board of directors chose him to replace Alexander Ryazanov, who left the company and Gazprom on November 15. Dyukov is expected to be confirmed as president of Gazprom Neft (formerly known as Sibneft) at an unscheduled shareholders meeting on December 30. Analysts suggest that one of the consequences of that appointment will be the transfer of oil exports from that company to Gazprom Export. The main buyer for the company's oil would then become an affiliate of Gennady Timchenko's Rossiya Bank. In spite of the respect his managerial skill have earned within the industry, it is possible that Dyukov will face problems assembling a management team. When Ryazanov took over the leadership of the company a year ago (when it was acquired by Gazprom), he faced the exodus of three of the top executives from the company, as well as the president of the main production affiliate. Three new top managers were assembled by Ryazanov only with difficulty and are known to be loyal to him. They are vice president for production Reval Mukhametzyanov, vice president for strategy Leonid Reznikov and vice president for refining and sales Anatoly Cherner. Reznikov has been described as “especially close” to Ryazanov, although he and Cherner both declined to comment on the possibility of their resignations. A Kommersant source in a Gazprom Neft subsidiary said that Mukhametzyanov wrote a letter of resignation on November 17, but Mukhametzyanov himself denied that. Gazprom promised to “try to retain valued specialists.” New SIBUR president Dmitry Konov has stated that he will “rely on the team formed at the holding by Alexander Dyukov.” Besides personnel problems, Dyukov may also face production problems. In 2005, the company's production (not counting Slavneft) fell 3 percent to 33.4 million tons. This year, the company itself is estimating its production at 32-33 tons. Ryazanov is given credit for stabilizing production at the company but the company needs to buy back the 20 percent of its stock owned by YUKOS. Ryazanov was unsuccessful in doing that before the latter company's bankruptcy. Now that task will be more complex. Analysts expect ties between Gazprom and Gazprom Neft to become stronger with Ryazanov's departure. The company's exports may be redirected as well. Ryazanov insisted on the independence of the company's exports and the retention of Sibneft's trader Siboil. There is no formal agreement with Siboil though, so the export procedure can be changed without special confirmation by Gazprom Neft's board. Analysts expect Gazprom Neft's exports, which consist of 13.7 million tons in the Transneft system, to be shifted to Gazprom Export, as happened with SIBUR when Dyukov took over that company. Exports by Gazprom Export are handled by the trader Gunvor, which is considered on the market to be under the control of Gennady Timchenko, owner of Rossiya Bank.

21 November 2006 - Upstream onLine - Russian gas giant Gazprom is set to run its eye over a list of potential takeover targets in the US, the state-run monopoly's deputy export chief told a conference in Moscow today. "Gazprom plans to soon start analysing US assets to penetrate the North American energy market," Reuters quoted Sergei Yemelyanov as saying. He said Gazprom's key overseas trading arm, UK-registered Gazprom Marketing & Trading (GMT), had opened an office in the US and will focus on liquefied natural gas trading. Gazprom has no LNG production of its own but has clinched a few sporadic spot deals in the past years in a bid to become a global energy trading company. It had planned to win 20% of the US gas market by 2030 with the launch of the Shtokman field, but revised the plan last month when it said gas would mainly go to Europe and dashed the hopes of US companies which hoped to help tap the field. The move was interpreted as a Kremlin reaction to the cooling of relations with Washington, which have improved this month after the US finally cleared Russia's bid to join the World Trade Organisation. Gazprom is present in almost every European country and is focusing on accessing end-users directly by bypassing national gas monopolies to boost profits. Yemelyanov said GMT will open an office in Paris on Friday and had already signed its first direct gas sales deals with French customers. He declined to give details. He also said Gazprom wanted to increase operations in Israel and Albania. He said Albania was important as a transit route for Russian gas to Italy via the trans-Adriatic pipeline.

11-22-2006 Upstream onLine - Russia's Gazprom has gained control of the South Tambey gas field on the Yamal peninsula by buying it from its former owner Tambeyneftegaz after reaching an out-of-court settlement, according to Russian media reports. Business dailies Vedomosti and Kommersant said the gas monopoly had gained control of South Tambey, citing unnamed Gazprom sources and the field's former owner. The newspapers said the field holds 1.2 trillion cubic metres of gas, enough to supply Europe for three years. Aton brokerage said the development was positive for Gazprom. "South Tambey will add 6% to the Gazprom's existing reserve base," it said in a report. "This also means that Gazprom is likely to be the only gas producer on the Yamal peninsula, and the almost 5 Tcm of still undistributed gas reserves would ultimately end up on Gazprom's books," it said. Gazprom had initially planned to buy 25% in Tambeyneftegaz, which controlled the field, but Vedomosti said it had ultimately agreed to buy full control from the former owner, Nikolai Bogachyov, for undisclosed sum. In February, Spanish player Repsol YPF said it was considering setting up a joint venture with Anadarko Petroleum and Tambeyneftegaz to develop an integrated liquefied natural gas project on Yamal. Officials at Gazprom were not immediately available for comment and it remains to be seen whether the plan to operate the field together with foreign partners will survive after the field is acquired by Gazprom. The Yamal peninsula in the Arctic and the Shtokman field in the Barents Sea are set to become Gazprom's most important production bases this century as its West Siberian production is declining.

MOSCOW, November 22 (RIA Novosti) - Gazprom Neft [RTS: SIBN], an oil-producing subsidiary of Russian energy giant Gazprom [RTS: GAZP], said Wednesday its board of directors has appointed Alexander Dyukov, who earlier headed a Gazprom petrochemicals subsidiary, as acting CEO. Dyukov, 38, is the former head of Sibur Holding. On November 16, Gazprom proposed his appointment, to replace Alexander Ryazanov as head of Gazprom Neft, formerly Sibneft. The Russian gas monopoly said last Wednesday it had refused to extend Ryazanov's contract, and would relieve him of two posts as deputy chairman of Gazprom's Management Committee, and president of Gazprom Neft. Ryazanov will remain on Sibur's board of directors. Last week, Russia's leading business daily Kommersant quoted sources close to Gazprom and Gazprom Neft who put Ryazanov's dismissal down to disagreements with the gas giant's top management over the oil subsidiary's independence. Ryazanov told the newspaper last Wednesday that he saw "no point in staying at Gazprom Neft." "I was ready to head Gazprom Neft only if it really remained an independent company," he said. Ryazanov's successor on Gazprom's Management Committee, Valery Golubev, served in the KGB between 1979 and 1991, and then in the mayor's office at the same time as President Vladimir Putin, the paper said. Vremya Novostei, a popular daily, offered another explanation for Ryazanov's departure, saying the move comes as part of consolidation of the energy giant's personnel and financial assets in anticipation of inevitable conflicts within the presidential administration in the run-up to the presidential election of 2008. The paper said Ryazanov did not belong to any of the influence groups, which could have been a factor in his resignation.

MOSCOW, November 22 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will not ratify the Energy Charter as it stands, because it would damage the country's economic interests, the president's top adviser on EU affairs said Wednesday. The European Union has called on Russia to sign the agreement, which would force it to open up its pipelines to European companies and provide safeguards for investors. "Russia will not ratify the [Energy Charter] treaty and protocol in their present form, and the European Union knows this very well," Sergei Yastrzhembsky said. The agreement is set to be a key sticking point at the upcoming EU-Russia summit, which begins Friday in Helsinki. Poland has vetoed EU plans to launch talks at the summit on a new cooperation agreement with Russia, demanding that Moscow first ratify the Energy Charter and end its ban on certain Polish food products. However, Moscow considers the charter to be skewered in favor of energy importers. The presidential adviser said: "We find it unacceptable that energy transit tariffs should be the same for domestic and foreign consumers. We cannot accept the loss of our natural advantage as a transit country with a unique, diversified pipeline system, over which we will effectively lose control if we ratify the treaty and the protocols as they stand now," he said. The Russian foreign minister said earlier Wednesday that Moscow has no intention of ratifying the charter, because it is flawed. Sergei Lavrov said, "The EU side is aware of the document's flaws. The recent meeting of the Energy Charter signatories shows that our position is receiving more understanding." The Energy Charter treaty came into force in 1998 Russia has refused to ratify it over Europe's demands for access to Russian pipelines for Central Asian states and other countries, which Moscow says will make their natural gas 50% cheaper than Russia's when it arrives in Europe.

11-21-2006 Kommersant.com - Russia’s gas monopoly, Gazprom, has refused to buy main gas pipelines and gas distribution networks in Germany, as political risks of their loss are very high now. The liberalization of the EU gas market that is slated for July 1, 2007 will destroy the vertically-integrated chains from producers to end users, hitting Europe’s big energy consortiums as a result.
The company sees no need to spend funds for buying assets in Germany, Gazprom Germania CEO Hans-Joachim Gornig made clear to Der Tagesspiegel yesterday. The reason is the general political conditions with control over the energy markets getting tougher and tougher. Environmental ministers of the EU even speak of stripping consortiums off their energy and gas networks, Gornig specified.
In the Moscow office of Gazprom, they neither explained nor denied the statement of Gornig.
So far, energy assets in Ruhr region and a stake in RWE have been of interest to Gazprom, Gornig said. In October, Leipzig Burgomaster Burkhard Jung said he was in talks with Gazprom about the possible sale of the city’s share in a gas consuming communal enterprise.
Nowadays, Gazprom owns 5 percent in Leipziger Verbundnetz Gas gas networks of the city and Gazprom’s subsidiary, Efet, joined the organization of German energy traders a few months ago.
The refusal to buy assets in Germany will hardly mean material damage to Gazprom, said UBS analyst Kakha Kiknavelidze. Because of control, the gas distribution in Europe isn’t the most lucrative business in terms of money, the analyst explained.
By demonstrating external indifference, Gazprom probably attempts to force down the price for the asset, supposed Konstantin Baturin from Alfa Bank.

11-21-2006 Bloomberg - Yukos' two largest production units hold oil reserves worth more than $9 billion, although they may be auctioned for less, Kommersant reported Monday, citing a valuation report by Miller & Lents.The bankrupt company's largest unit, Tomskneft, holds 998.9 million barrels of proven oil reserves that could generate $5.37 billion in revenue, the paper said. Samaraneftegaz holds 915 million barrels of proven oil reserves, which could bring the company $3.68 billion, the newspaper said.

RBC, 17.11.2006, Moscow 09:26:39.As YUKOS' sale is drawing nearer, major companies seeking to acquire its assets are borrowing money. Two weeks ago, Rosneft was granted a credit of $24.5bn from a number of western banks, and Gazprom is expected to announce the results of placing two loans, in dollars and euros, on November 17, RBC Daily said today. On November 16, Gazprom opened order books for the two Eurobond tranches. This would be the third borrowing of the gas giant which is eyeing Tomsk-based assets of YUKOS. Assets subject to the bankruptcy proceedings are to be sold on or after January 19, 2007, and by that time independent assessment companies will have determined their value. An Uralsib analyst put the fair value of all YUKOS assets at around $27bn, however he did not rule out that they might sold at a significant discount.

HANOI, November 20 (RIA Novosti) - Gazprom [RTS: GAZP] plans to cooperate with Vietnamese oil and gas company Petrovietnam in geological prospecting and natural gas production, and in exporting the southeast Asian state's gas to third countries, the Russian energy giant's chief said Monday. A Russian delegation, including the president, the foreign minister, and business leaders, is staying in Hanoi for an extra day following the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit held on the weekend. The presidents' talks earlier Monday focused on energy cooperation. Alexei Miller said, "Gazprom is already working in Vietnam. We are conducting geological prospecting of [natural gas] deposits." Officially known as Vietnam Oil and Gas Corporation, Petrovietnam has developed rapidly since it was established three decades ago, and its activities now cover operations from oil and gas exploration and production to storage, processing, transportation, distribution, and services. Commenting on a cooperation agreement between the Russian and Vietnamese energy companies, Miller said the document covers many areas including gas prospecting and production, as well developing the Vietnam's gas transport and storage system.

11-16-2006 Bloomberg - By Lucian Kim - NIZHNEVARTOVSK, Khanty-Mansiisk Autonomous District -- TNK-BP agreed Wednesday to form a joint venture with Gazprom as it seeks better government relations amid a crackdown on foreign energy companies. TNK-BP and Gazprom's petrochemical unit Sibur Holding signed an agreement to refine so-called associated gas, which is extracted along with crude oil. The agreement may help TNK-BP, whose Russian shareholders include billionaires Viktor Vekselberg and Mikhail Fridman, smooth relations with Gazprom, which opposes the company's single-handed development of the $18 billion Kovykta gas field in eastern Siberia. "This is a good example of partnership between private and state companies," TNK-BP executive director German Khan said at the signing ceremony in Nizhnevartovsk. "We want to broaden our cooperation to other regions where our interests intersect." Gazprom will have 51 percent of the new company and TNK-BP 49 percent, though management control will be equal, Sibur president Alexander Dyukov said. Gazprom will contribute two refineries with a combined capacity to process 12 billion cubic meters per year. TNK-BP will provide the gas. The agreement will guarantee deliveries at stable prices for future growth, Dyukov said. The two companies may together invest as much as $500 million in the project over the next five years, Khan said. Dyukov declined to put a value on the new venture. State officials are using noncompliance with license agreements and environmental legislation to raise pressure on projects led by BP, Shell and Total, as the Kremlin seeks to turn state-run companies like Gazprom and Rosneft into global champions. Sibur is in talks on similar projects at TNK-BP's Nyagan and Orenburg fields, Dyukov said. The company is also considering ventures with LUKoil, Gazprom Neft and Rosneft. Many oil producers flare the natural gas that they extract along with crude, a process that is both environmentally damaging and wasteful. Russia is facing a gas crunch as it seeks to meet export contracts and the demands of a booming economy. TNK-BP, which pumps two-thirds of its crude in the Nizhnevartovsk area, produced 6.6 bcm of associated gas there last year, one-quarter of which was simply burned off into the atmosphere. By the end of 2008, the company wants to be using all of its associated gas. Gazprom deputy CEO Alexander Ananenkov said Wednesday on Sakhalin Island that Gazprom and Rosneft were completing talks on a "strategic partnership." BP already has a close relationship with Rosneft, having spent $1 billion buying Rosneft shares in the company's initial public offering in July.

November 16, 2006 – The Moscow Times – Gazprom on Wednesday fired deputy CEO Alexander Ryazanov, who spearheaded the gas monopoly's expansion into the oil sector after its acquisition of Roman Abramovich's Sibneft last year. Ryazanov is the most senior Gazprom official to be fired since President Vladimir Putin appointed one of his colleagues from his own St. Petersburg days, Alexei Miller, as the company's CEO in May 2001, replacing Rem Vyakhirev. Ryazanov, 53, joined Gazprom in 2001. Gazprom said in a brief statement that Ryazanov had been released as his contract would soon expire. A spokesman declined to provide further details. It was unclear whether Ryazanov would hold on to his post as head of Gazprom's oil subsidiary, Gazprom Neft. Sibneft was renamed Gazprom Neft after being bought by Gazprom for $13.1 billion in September 2005. "As of today, Alexander Ryazanov is still holding the post of president of Gazprom Neft," Natalya Vyalkina, a spokeswoman for Gazprom Neft, said late Wednesday. "Changing the president is a shareholder issue," Vyalkina added, saying she did not know whether a shareholder meeting was planned for the near future. Late on Wednesday, Interfax reported that the meeting would take place Nov. 22. Gazprom Neft's production has lagged under Ryazanov's leadership, but it remains the country's fifth-largest oil company by market capitalization. With proven reserves of 4.5 billion barrels, it has been producing just over 30 million tons of oil per year. State-run Gazprom, notorious for its inefficiency and failure to develop new fields, has been expanding into sectors as diverse as oil, banking and the media. Some analysts have speculated that Gazprom Neft's low production is instead Abramovich's fault, accusing the billionaire of bleeding Sibneft's fields to boost the company's market value in order to fetch an inflated price. Gazprom said Valery Golubyev, the head of its equipment and services arm, would take over as acting deputy CEO. Golubyev is a former KGB, officer who served in the St. Petersburg mayor's office in the early 1990s, when Putin was also serving in the city administration. Both men are 54. Speculation has swirled of rocky relations between Ryazanov and other top officials at Gazprom. "There are different power blocs in all big companies and this dismissal could be part of that," said Chris Weafer, chief strategist at Alfa Bank. Other speculation rested on the continuing competition between Gazprom and Rosneft as the two state-run companies battle it out for leadership in the country's lucrative hyrdrocarbon sector. "Gazprom and Rosneft are competing with each other inside the Kremlin for several very attractive assets," Weafer said. "So [Ryazanov's firing] is the consequence of some internal argument between Gazprom and Rosneft on assets or it is part of the power struggle inside Gazprom." The Kremlin appears to have backed Gazprom as its national champion in the international arena, supporting the company's controversial decision to develop the massive Shtokman gas field, in the Barents Sea, on its own. Threats by the Natural Resources Ministry to revoke operating licenses for Shell and TNK-BP have been interpreted as a means of putting government pressure on foreign oil majors to accept Gazprom's entry into their projects. Gazprom's acquisition of Sibneft raised the state's stake in the oil and gas sector to 30 percent and came less than one year after Rosneft bought Yukos' main production unit, Yuganskneftegaz, through a December 2004 bargain auction amid the dismantling of Yukos. Rosneft's acquisition of Yuganskneftegaz signaled the end of merger talks between Rosneft and Gazprom. The two companies continue to fight over the remaining assets of bankrupt Yukos, which include two oil production units and five refineries. Rosneft is in a prime position to take over the assets as its main creditor, owed $9.5 billion. But the signs of a bidding war were in the making when Gazprom said earlier this year that it hoped to buy Yukos' Tomskneft oil unit. The two companies appeared to put some differences aside on Wednesday, announcing that they would join forces to develop some oil projects, Bloomberg reported. "Negotiations on joint operations between Gazprom and Rosneft, in particular a strategic partnership agreement, are practically finished," Alexander Ananenkov, another Gazprom deputy CEO, was quoted as saying on a visit to Sakhalin Island.

HOT October 2006 - Kommersant - A U.S. court has turned down a suit of YUKOS’s minority shareholders against the company’s former management and MENATEP Group, its major shareholder. The court said it has no jurisdiction over this dispute. The court may also use this ground considering a suit of YUKOS’s minority shareholders against Russia.
The Court of Appeal for the Southern District of New York has dismissed a suit of three minority shareholders of YUKOS, British citizen Mikolya Buynitsky, Roxwell Holdings and Parsimory Ltd., against YUKOS, the company’s then auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers and major shareholder MENATEP Group. The plaintiffs claimed that these people and entities had not informed them about political risks that holding stocks of YUKOS could entail and deliberately hid facts about YUKOS’s tax strategy and Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s political activities.
In March, the U.S. court considered two claims from MENATEP Group and YUKOS to decline examining the suit. The court satisfied both. The decision was party based on the fact that the plaintiffs had little relation to the United States. Buynitsky is a British citizen who resides in Moscow and Roxwell Holdings is registered on the Bahamas but it bought stocks of YUKOS at a Russian exchange. Parsimony is New York-based firm but it also bought stocks of the oil giant at a exchange elsewhere.
The court dismissed the claims on Thursday, saying that the place of consideration was inadequate and the court had no jurisdiction over the case.
U.S. courts have used these grounds in Russia-related cases for a number of times lately. The same reasons were given for dismissing claims of Moncrief Oil against Gazprom, Dzhalol Khaidarov against Iskander Makhmudov or Palmco Corp. against Tekhsnabexport.
Another suit of YUKOS’s minority shareholders is still pending. Plaintiffs accuse the Russian Federation and high-placed officials of expropriating YUKOS’s major assets. Yet, arguments of the plaintiffs are the same as with yesterday’s case, therefore U.S. courts are most likely to dismiss these claims as well.

11-15-2006 Kommersant - On November 14, Russia’s gas monopoly, Gazprom, and Italian Eni rounded off the negotiations of over a year. The result is a new agreement on strategic partnership that enables Gazprom to supply gas directly to Italy, which is Europe’s third market in size. In return, Eni will participate in buying oil assets in Russia.
The agreement of Gazprom and Eni enables Gazprom to directly supply gas to Italian market starting from 2007 with the size gradually increasing up to 3 billion cu meters by 2010. Italy is the second biggest importer of Russia’s gas in Europe.
The yesterday’s agreement extends gas contracts with Italy till 2035. This is particularly vital in view of new trading regulations that take effect in Europe June 1, 2007. Gazprom has sealed similar agreements with Gaz de France, E.ON Rurghas, OMV, RWE and BASF and intends to conlude a few more agreements till the end of this year.
Gazprom said the parties have agreed to work at investment projects related to gas exploration and production in Russia and abroad, cooperate while laying new routes and developing the existing ones, including the Blue Stream project, and cooperate in the field of liquefied natural gas.
Gazprom didn’t say whether they had agreed to swap assets, and its representatives declined to discuss the issue.
But during the yesterday’s teleconference, Eni CEO Paolo Scaroni announced the agreement with Gazprom to jointly bid for oil assets in Russia. Amid such assets could be the YUKOS companies, sources of Dow Jones reported.

RBC, 16.11.2006, Moscow 13:40:32.Gazprom President Alexei Miller will discuss specific projects with top managers of the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) during his visit to Egypt in early December, the Egyptian Ambassador to Russia Izzat Saad El Sayed announced at the 4th International Oil Forum in Moscow today. El Sayed also said that a NOVATEK chief executive would be visiting Egypt at about the same time as the Russian oil company were planning to sign a memorandum of understanding with Egypt's EGAS. NOVATEK was unable not tell RBC who would be conducting negotiations with EGAS, as, according a company source, it was premature to talk about definite projects with the Egyptian company.

RBC, 15.11.2006, Moscow 09:21:33. – Gazprom and ENI (Italy) extended the contracts for gas delivery to Italy that are currently in force. According to Gazprom's press office, yesterday the two giants signed a strategic partnership agreement, which also enables Gazprom to make direct gas deliveries to the Italian market starting from 2007. The Russian holding will gradually increase its annual supplies, which are expected to reach 3bn cubic meters in 2010. In line with the agreement, the parties will join efforts for gas exploration and production investment projects in Russia and third countries. The agreement also says they will cooperate in building new and updating existing gas transportation routes, including the Blue Stream, as well as in the sphere of liquefied gas.

MOSCOW, November 16 (RIA Novosti) - Gazprom [RTS: GAZP] has proposed replacing Alexander Ryazanov, the former head of the energy giant's oil unit, with the chief executive of Sibur, its petrochemical arm. Russia's gas monopoly Wednesday refused to extend its contract with Ryazanov, 53, relieving him of two posts as a deputy chairman of Gazprom's board and president of Gazprom Neft [RTS: SIBN], the company's oil asset taken over from the now bankrupt Yukos Oil Company last September. Ryazanov will remain on Sibur's management board. The proposed candidate, Alexander Dyukov, 38, a long-time associate of Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller, will be considered for the post of acting president at a Gazprom Neft management board session November 22. Shareholders will meet afterward to decide on his final appointment. Gazprom, which covers a quarter of Europe's gas needs, said Wednesday it would appoint Valery Golubev, 54, head of Gazprom's equipment and services arm and an ex-KGB officer like President Vladimir Putin, as Gazprom's deputy board chairman to succeed Ryazanov. Russia's leading business daily Kommersant quoted sources close to Gazprom and Gazprom Neft who put Ryazanov's dismissal down to disagreements with the gas monopoly's top management over the oil unit's independence. Ryazanov told the newspaper Wednesday that he saw "no point in staying at Gazprom Neft." "I was ready to head Gazprom Neft only if it really remained an independent company," he said. Ryazanov's successor on Gazprom's board, Golubev, comes from St. Petersburg and served in the KGB between 1979 and 1991, and then in the mayor's office at the same time as Putin, the paper said. Vremya Novostei, a popular daily, offers another explanation for Ryazanov's departure. It said the move comes as part of consolidation of the energy giant's personnel and financial assets in anticipation of the inevitable factional fighting within the presidential administration in the run-up to the presidential election of 2008. The paper said Ryazanov did not belong to any of the influence groups, which could have been a factor in his resignation.

MOSCOW, November 16 (RIA Novosti) - Russian energy giant Gazprom [RTS: GAZP] and Egypt's Egaz intend to discuss specific cooperation projects soon, the Egyptian ambassador to Russia said Thursday. On March 28, Gazprom and Egaz signed a memorandum of cooperation in geological prospecting, oil and gas production, projects to build new gas pipelines for Egypt's domestic market and export requirements, supply Russian-made equipment for the Egyptian oil and gas sector and train Egyptian oil and gas personnel in Russia. Izzaad Saad said Gazprom Chief Executive Officer Alexei Miller will visit Egypt in early December to discuss projects with Egaz within the framework of the memorandum signed by both parties.

MOSCOW, November 15 (RIA Novosti) - Alexander Ryazanov has been relieved of his post as deputy chairman of Gazprom's [RTS: GAZP] management committee because his contract has expired, the press service of the Russian energy giant said Wednesday. The company's press service said Ryazanov, who is also president of the giant's oil asset Gazprom Neft [RTS: SIBN], will be temporarily replaced by Valery Golubev, a management committee member and head of the investment and construction department. His first deputy, Yaroslav Golko, will become acting head of the department. The candidacies of Golubev and Golko will be submitted for the board of directors' approval.

MOSCOW. Nov 8 (Interfax) - Gazprom (RTS: GAZP) will start a road show on Monday, November 13 for a new issue of Eurobonds, several financial market sources told Interfax. Credit Suisse and UBS will organize the issue. The issue is expected to be from 700 million to 1 billion euros or U.S. dollars. The bonds are being issued under an euro medium-term notes program totaling $15 billion. Luxembourg-based Gaz Capital S.A. will be the issuer. Gazprom's borrowing program has a cap of 90 billion rubles in 2006. Under the program, the company has already placed two ruble-denominated bonds issues this year for 10 billion rubles and 780 million euros, or 27 billion rubles, in Eurobonds.

08.11.2006 MosNews - Russia’s natural gas monopoly Gazprom reiterated on Tuesday, Nov.7, that there will be no subsidized natural gas prices for Russia’s ex-Soviet neighbors. The company also threatened to cut gas supplies to Georgia if no contract is signed, but pledged to meet Ukraine’s supply needs. Gazprom is seeking to raise gas prices for members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), an alliance of former Soviet republics, including Georgia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova, to average European levels of around $230 per 1,000 cubic meters. Alexander Medvedev, who heads the company’s export arm Gazexport, said Gazprom will cut off natural gas supplies to Georgia, and supply gas via Georgian territory for Armenia only, if no contract is signed. Russia and Georgia remain entangled in a diplomatic feud that began in September over Tbilisi’s brief detention of Russian officers on spying charges. Russia has imposed mail and transport bans on its neighbor, deported hundreds of Georgians, and cracked down on “illegal” Georgian businesses. In relation to Ukraine, the Gazprom official said Russia will meet the country’s supply needs in 2007. Russia will supply 55 billion cubic meters of Central Asian gas to the country in 2007 at $130 for 1,000 cubic meters, as stipulated in a deal signed in late October between RosUkrEnergo, the sole supplier of Russian and Central Asian gas to Ukraine, and UkrGazEnergo, the trader’s joint venture with Ukraine’s national oil and gas company Naftogaz. “The volume of gas that must be delivered to Ukraine is known, it is a minimum of 55 billion cubic meters. This volume will meet Ukraine’s minimal needs, while extra deliveries must be covered by separate agreements,” Medvedev said, quoted by RIA Novosti. Russia briefly cut off gas supplies to Ukraine, over a price dispute in the beginning of this year, and Gazprom accused its neighbor of siphoning off Europe-bound gas during the spat. However, since the appointment of pro-Russian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych in August, Kiev has managed to limit the 2007 gas price to $130. Medvedev said Gazprom expects Ukraine to meet in full all its commitments on gas transit to European customers, adding that Ukraine’s siphoning off Russia’s natural gas in January reached about 80 million cubic meters a day. The energy giant’s official also stated that there are no “political motives” in Gazprom’s decision-making.

RBC, 03.11.2006, Moscow 17:16:39.The possible asset swap deal between Gazprom and ENI is probably intended for creating a strategic consortium to facilitate acquisitions on European and Russian markets, analysts said commenting on Italian media reports that Gazprom was planning to swap a 20-percent stake in NOVATEK for 40 percent of Enipower shares and stakes in a Libyan oilfield and LNG refinery. According to Italian press, the deal may be connected to plans to sign a long-term contract for Russian gas supplies to Italy until 2017. Gazprom will probably still retain a stake in NOVATEK to participate in the management of the independent gas producer, experts believe. Some risks may be involved for NOVATEK in being co-owned by the Italian giant because the Russian gas producer will then be viewed as a foreign company by Russian authorities. This will prevent it from tendering for participation in the exploration of Russia's strategically important oil and gas fields as outlined in the new draft of the Russian subsurface resources law, experts said.

RBC, 03.11.2006, Moscow 11:45:59.Gazprom placed two bond issues on Thursday, each amounting to RUR5bn (approx. USD187m), the company's press office reported. According to analysts, securities with a three-year maturity period were the most popular and bought entirely by foreign investors. An annual coupon rate of 6.79 percent was set on A7 series securities with a three-year maturity period, and the coupon rate for the A8 series with a five-year maturity period was set at 7 percent. The rate of return on series A7 bonds was 6.91 percent, and from series A8 7.12 percent. The bid book for securities with three-year maturity was oversubscribed by almost double and amounted to RUR9.6bn (approx. USD344m). Bids for securities with a five-year maturity period amounted to half as much, with investors placing demands for RUR7.4bn (approx. USD277m). Analysts said that on the Russian stock market the high demand for securities with a three-year maturity period is due to a small spread between the rates for securities with three- and five-year maturity periods.

MOSCOW, November 7 (RIA Novosti) - Gazprom is ready to join the Sakhalin II project, when cost disputes and environmental problems surrounding the vast Shell-led hydrocarbon project in Russia's Far East are settled, a deputy board chairman of the state-controlled energy giant said Tuesday. The multibillion-dollar liquefied natural gas project has come under attack from Russian authorities over environmental issues, and a cost estimate increase by the operator, which puts off the date on which the Russian government will receive its share of the profits. As well as Royal Dutch Shell, which holds a 55% stake in project operator Sakhalin Energy, Japanese companies Mitsui and Mitsubishi hold 25% and 20%, respectively. "We will be ready to resume talks with Shell and the two Japanese companies on joining the project when the two sets of issues are settled," Alexander Medvedev said. While reaffirming Gazprom's interest in the Sakhalin II deposits, the official said: "The first set of issues refers to an increase in operational costs, which will inevitably influence the economics of the project, and the potential economics of our joining it." "The other set of issues, a more sensitive one, consists of environmental accusations... All ecological accusations have to be cleared up." Sakhalin Energy been accused of inflicting major ecological damage on Sakhalin, and Russian authorities said the project could be suspended in some of its sections. The operator, Sakhalin Energy, is expected to submit a plan to rectify the violations shortly. Under the project's product sharing agreement signed in 1994, the operator is entitled to comfortably recoup its expenses before sharing profits with the government. Sakhalin Energy has doubled its cost estimate to $22 billion, triggering protests from Russian authorities. The Russian gas giant has been pursuing a 25+1% share in Sakhalin II, in return for a 50% stake in the massive West Siberian Zapolyarnoye-Neocomian project. But with costs on Sakhalin spiraling, Gazprom has been seeking more advantageous terms. Some analysts have interpreted environmental authorities' crackdown on the project as a form of pressure on the British-Dutch oil major to conclude a deal with Gazprom. Sakhalin II comprises an oil field with associated gas, a natural gas field with associated condensate production, a pipeline, a liquefied natural gas plant and an LNG export terminal. The two fields hold reserves totaling 150 million metric tons (1.1 billion barrels) of oil and 500 billion cubic meters of natural gas.

MOSCOW, November 7 (RIA Novosti) - Gazprom [RTS: GAZP] is not in talks to buy a stake in German utility company RWE, and plans to solve all issues with Italy's ENI soon, the Russian energy giant's first deputy CEO said Tuesday. German media earlier reported that Gazprom is seeking a 20% stake in RWE AG's subsidiary RWE Westfalen-Weser-Ems AG, a regional energy, gas, and water supply company. "We are not holding talks either with the RWE management or RWE shareholders on this issue," Alexander Medvedev told journalists. RWE Westfalen-Weser-Ems AG serves 5.5 million customers. Its sales in 2005 were $6.5 billion. Discussing Italian oil and gas company ENI, Medvedev said Gazprom is planning to resolve all remaining issues with the company by mid-November. In answer to a question on when an agreement will be signed on the companies' joint work on Italy's market, he said practically all issues relating to Gazprom's plans in Italy "have been coordinated, and the small discrepancies in views that remain will be resolved at a meeting of the two companies' leaders, scheduled for the middle of November." Medvedev attributed the failure to sign an agreement, originally scheduled for October 15, to the pressing schedules of the companies' top officials. In June, Italy's foreign minister said the country is ready to open its market to Gazprom, so that it can sell natural gas directly without having to go through other companies.

MOSCOW, November 7 (RIA Novosti) - Gazprom [RTS: GAZP] reiterated Tuesday that there will be no subsidized natural gas prices for Russia's ex-Soviet neighbors; the energy giant also threatened to cut off supplies to Georgia, but pledged to meet Ukraine's supply needs. Gazprom is seeking to raise gas prices for members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), an alliance of former Soviet republics, including Georgia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova, to average European levels of around $230 per 1,000 cubic meters. Alexander Medvedev, who heads the company's export arm Gazexport, said Gazprom will cut off natural gas supplies to Georgia, and supply gas via Georgian territory for Armenia only, if no contract is signed. Russia and Georgia remain entangled in a diplomatic feud that began in September over Tbilisi's brief detention of Russian officers on spying charges. Russia has imposed mail and transport bans on its neighbor, deported hundreds of Georgians, and cracked down on 'illegal' Georgian businesses. In relation to Ukraine, the Gazprom official said Russia will meet the country's supply needs in 2007. Russia will supply 55 billion cubic meters of Central Asian gas to the country in 2007 at 1,000 cubic meters, as stipulated in a deal signed in late October between RosUkrEnergo, the sole supplier of Russian and Central Asian gas to Ukraine, and UkrGazEnergo, the trader's joint venture with Ukraine's national oil and gas company Naftogaz. "The volume of gas that must be delivered to Ukraine is known, it is a minimum of 55 billion cu m. This volume will meet Ukraine's minimal needs, while extra deliveries must be covered by separate agreements," he said. Russia briefly cut off gas supplies to Ukraine, over a price dispute in the beginning of this year, and Gazprom accused its neighbor of siphoning off Europe-bound gas during the spat. However, since the appointment of pro-Russian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych in August, Kiev has managed to limit the 2007 gas price to $130. Medvedev said Gazprom expects Ukraine to meet in full all its commitments on gas transit to European customers, adding that Ukraine's siphoning off Russia's natural gas in January reached about 80 million cubic meters a day.