Russ Oil-Gas

December 11, 2007 - The St.Petersburg Times - MOSCOW — Gazprom, Russia’s natural gas export monopoly, rose as much as 2.9 percent after Russian President Vladimir Putin endorsed its chairman, Dmitry Medvedev, as his successor. Gazprom, the world’s largest gas producer, gained 2.3 percent to 355.82 rubles at 2:36 p.m., valuing the company at 8.44 trillion rubles ($345.03 billion). United Russia Chairman Boris Gryzlov proposed Medvedev, 42, as the party’s candidate at a meeting in Moscow today and Putin supported the idea, state television reported. Medvedev also serves as Russia’s first deputy prime minister. Medvedev’s role in the energy industry makes domestic tariff increases and tax reductions more likely for energy firms, Julian Rimmer, head of sales and trading at UralSib Financial Corp.’s London office, said by phone from London. “People think that tariff hikes for the energy companies are now more likely,’’ Rimmer said by phone from London. “People in the oil sector understand that for Russia to solve its production problem, it needs to stimulate production in Siberia.’’ The election is scheduled for March 2. Putin has pledged to stand down after serving two consecutive terms, the maximum allowed by the constitution.