Russia 110712 Basic Political Developments
Russian cable deal on horizon
Download 324.43 Kb.
|
- Navigate this page:
- Palfinger buys INMAN in Russia
- REFILE-UPDATE 1-Melnichenko cuts stake in K+S to less than 10 pct
- Russian fish harvest up 1.4% since start of year
- Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)
- CPC not planning to increase Tengiz-Novorossiysk pipeline expansion budget
- Russneft Chief Gutseriev May Buy Mari Refinery, Kommersant Says
- TNK-BP Invests 2.3 Billion Roubles in Modernization at Saratov Refinery in H1 2011
- Gazprom German EconMin: Gazprom can invest in German firms
- Cooperation Talks Germanys RWE Mulls Gazprom as Major Shareholder
- Nord Stream to counter Japans gas takeup
- 99 Percent of Sakhalin – Khabarovsk – Vladivostok GTS Line Welded
Russian cable deal on horizonhttp://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2011/07/12/russian-cable-deal-on-horizon/ 07.50 Europe/London, July 12, 2011 By Chris Dziadul The sale of Moscow-based Akado, one of Russia’s leading cable operators, has moved a stage closer. Vedomosti reports that that a meeting of the board of directors at Megafon is scheduled for mid July and that a deal to buy Akado could be wrapped up by the end of this month. The sale price – around $1.2 billion (€849.6 million), including debts, estimated at some $370 million as of the beginning of this year, though now apparently down to around $200 million – is apparently the same today as was reported half a year ago. Apparently under the terms of the proposed deal, Megafon would pay 70% of the sale price in cash immediately and the remaining 30% later, depending on Akado’s financial performance. Renova Industries, which is backed by Viktor Vekselberg, and Yuri Pripachkin, the current owners of Akado, have been looking to sell the company since 2009. Should the deal be finalised, Megafon, which is already one of the leading mobile companies in Russia, would also become the largest provider of broadband internet services in Moscow.
Austria-based Palfinger has acquired fellow loader crane manufacturer Ischimbajskie Neftianiye Manipuliatory, JSC (INMAN), based in Russia. INMAN is headquarterd in Ishimbay, the Republic of Bashkortostan, in the Volga region south of Russia. The company has two factories and has been a distributor of straight boom and articulated loader cranes since 1992. It has 415 employees and a €20 million (US$28 million) turnover. The company also offers a range of services from certification for the Russian market to maintenance and spare parts. It primarily supplies companies in the oil and gas industry. "We were looking for a well-established and reliable partner based in the CIS area in order to establish local value creation. INMAN is a manufacturer of premium, reliable products and has a very strong and long-standing brand name. Its product portfolio is the perfect addition to the Palfinger products. The company's good market position allows us in particular to open up the Ural region," said Herbert Ortner, CEO of Austria-based Palfinger. INMAN will exist as a separate brand within the Palfinger group. The acquisition is still subject to the approval of the supervisory boards of both parties and the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Russian Federation (FAS). Palfinger now has 50 dealers on both sides of the Urals. REFILE-UPDATE 1-Melnichenko cuts stake in K+S to less than 10 pcthttp://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/12/ks-melnichenko-idUSLDE76B0AB20110712 4:04am EDT (Removes duplicate dateline) * Stake declines from almost 15 percent in September * Melnichenko needs funds to exploit Urals potash deposits * K+S share price falls 1.9 percent (Adds further details, background) FRANKFURT, July 12 (Reuters) - Russian tycoon Andrei Melnichenko has cut his stake in German potash miner K+S to less than 10 percent, down from almost 15 percent since the last notification 10 months ago, as he seeks to fund the development of costly potash deposits in the Ural mountains. K+S said on Tuesday that investment vehicles held by Melnichenko including his EuroChem fertiliser group have reduced their combined stake to 9.9 percent. A K+S spokesman said he could not comment on Melnichenko's further plans. In October last year EuroChem walked away from negotiations to jointly develop with K+S or other foreign partners the Verkhnekamsk potash deposits in the Urals. EuroChem said at the time it was looking at various funding options, including an IPO, to fund the development on its own. In March another major shareholder, chemicals giant BASF (BASFn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), sold its 10 percent stake in K+S, severing ties with its former subsidiary. (Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Greg Mahlich) July 12, 2011 12:20
Russian federal fisheries agency Rosrybolovstvo reported that fishermen had caught 1.446 million tonnes in Far Eastern waters - 79,400 tonnes more year-on-year. More than 1 million tonnes of that catch was Alaska pollock, although the harvest of this food species was 27,800 tonnes less than it was for the same period of 2010. The catch was up 50,300 tonnes at 368,600 tonnes in northern waters, with cod representing 189,900 tonnes of that (27,800 tonnes more year-on-year). The Baltic Sea produced 23,700 tonnes of fish for Russia (2,500 tonnes less year-on-year). The Baltic herring catch was down 700 tonnes at 5,800 tonnes. In the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, Russian fishing craft hauled in 17,100 tonnes of fish, 700 tonnes less year-on-year. The Caspian Sea yielded 20,200 tonnes, 200 tonnes more. The Caspian sprats catch totaled 900 tonnes versus 2,100 tonnes a year ago. Russian fishermen harvested 160,000 tonnes of fish and other seafood in the waters of other countries, 80,300 tonnes fewer year-on-year. The total catch was down 17,500 tonnes at 75,400 tonnes in convention zones and on the open seas. Cf (Our editorial staff can be reached at eng.editors@interfax.ru) Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)12.07.2011 Russian Energy Ministry Forecasts Growth in Demand for Gasolinehttp://www.oilandgaseurasia.com/news/p/0/news/12029 The Russian Energy Ministry, slightly frightened by the lack of gasoline in the country, intends to ask governors for information in the demand for the fuel in their regions through 2015. the study is meant to determine whether or not Russia needs to establish oil product reserves. Setting up a reserve could be costly — according to Izvestiya.ru, fuel purchases could cost as much as $2 billion. The ministry intends to compare regional demand with forecasts for growth in demand in the industrial and agricultural sectors of the economy and even with weather forecasts. Based on this data, the ministry will develop a system for fuel reserves. "This is a widely-used practice around the world. Reserves are established in the USA, Norway, South Africa and Austria. And Norway, like Russia, is a big oil exporter", the ministry reported.
http://www.rbcnews.com/free/20110712103946.shtml RBC, 12.07.2011, Moscow 10:39:46.Russia raised its natural gas exports to Armenia 8% year-on-year to 800m cubic meters in January-June, Russia's Energy Ministry reported today. This figure was announced at a meeting of the Russian-Armenian Economic Cooperation Commission. The parties also discussed electric power cooperation. Specifically, the construction of a fifth unit of the Razdan thermal power plant in Armenia is about to be completed. Russian power company Inter RAO UES has received a 100% stake in the TPP according to earlier agreements. July 12, 2011 11:21
The CPC expansion project, as approved by consortium shareholders this past December, figures a budget of $5.4 billion and provides for unanticipated expenses calculated on the basis of potential risks, the CPC said in a statement. "According to the CPC plan for project financing adopted by shareholders, the main source is the company's own funds received in profits from core business activity. In the event of a short-term insufficiency of these funds during the project's implementation, use may be made of limited outside borrowing within CPC's borrowing capacity," the statement says. As reported, CPC began expanding the pipeline's throughput capacity in Kazakhstan on July 1. The consortium plans to increase capacity from 28.2 million to 67 million tonnes per year. The project will cost an estimated $5.4 billion, and the financing is fully backed by production by extraction companies holding share interests in the consortium under the 'pump or pay' scheme. CPC operates the 1,511-kilometer Tengiz-Novorossiysk oil pipeline. Its sovereign shareholders are Russia with 31% (managed by Transneft (RTS: TRNF) - 24% and CPC Company - 7%) and Kazakhstan has 20.75% (KazMunayGas - 19% and Kazakhstan Pipeline Ventures LLC - 1.75%). The other shareholders are: Chevron Caspian Pipeline Consortium Company (15%), Lukarco B.V. (12.5%), Rosneft-Shell Caspian Ventures Limited (7.5%), Mobil Caspian Pipeline Company (7.5%), Eni International (N.A.) N.V. (2%), BG Overseas Holding Ltd (2%) and Oryx Caspian Pipeline LLC (1.75%). Cf (Our editorial staff can be reached at eng.editors@interfax.ru) Russneft Chief Gutseriev May Buy Mari Refinery, Kommersant Sayshttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-12/russneft-chief-gutseriev-may-buy-mari-refinery-kommersant-says.html Q By Jason Corcoran - Jul 12, 2011 6:39 AM GMT+0200 Mikhail Gutseriev, who heads Russian oil producer OAO Russneft oil, is in talks to buy the Mari refinery, in Yoshkar-Ola, for about $200 million, Kommersant reported, citing unidentified market participants. The transaction will be financed mainly through borrowed funds, in particular from Raiffeisenbank, the newspaper said. To contact the reporter on this story: Jason Corcoran at Jcorcoran13@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Gavin Serkin at gserkin@bloomberg.net 12.07.2011 TNK-BP Invests 2.3 Billion Roubles in Modernization at Saratov Refinery in H1 2011http://www.oilandgaseurasia.com/news/p/0/news/12034 TNK-BP invested over 2.3 billion roubles in modernization projects at its Saratov refinery in the first half of 2011, the company reported in a news release. The company will increase this sum of investment to 7.5 billion roubles by the end of the year, Saratov Refinery General Director Aleksandr Romanov said during a news conference. The investment program at the Saratov Refinery for 2011-2012 is over $300 million. The program envisions building a 300,000 tons per year isomerization unit, reconstructing the hydrotreatment unit as well as other projects aimed at producing Euro-5 standards compliant motor fuels and increasing output from 6 million to 7-7.5 million tons per year. Copyright 2011, TNK-BP. All rights reserved. GazpromGerman EconMin: Gazprom can invest in German firmshttp://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/11/gazprom-rwe-ministry-idUSB4E7I101420110711 Mon, Jul 11 2011 BERLIN, July 11 (Reuters) - Russian gas monopoly Gazprom (GAZP.MM: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is free to take a stake in German companies as long as it complies with anti-trust rules, a German Economy Ministry spokesman said on Monday. German magazine Der Spiegel had reported on Sunday that the Chief Executive of German utility RWE (RWEG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) would approve of Gazprom, the world's largest natural gas producer, taking a stake in RWE. [ID:nLDE768058] (Reporting by Erik Kirschbaum, Writing by Sarah Marsh)
http://www.platts.com/RSSFeedDetailedNews/RSSFeed/ElectricPower/6262760 London (Platts)--11Jul2011/1109 am EDT/1509 GMT The heads of France's GDF Suez and Russia's Gazprom discussed Friday possible "cooperation" in the power sector, as well as covering current issues on the Nord Stream gas pipeline project, the French company said late Friday. GDF Suez CEO Gerard Mestrallet met with Gazprom Chairman Alexei Miller in Paris and also discussed future gas supplies from Russia to Europe, in the light of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in March. GDF Suez, France's dominant gas supplier, holds long-term contracts with Gazprom for gas flows from Russia out to 2030. GDF Suez has said it is trying to renegotiate these long-term contracts as it tries to untangle its procurement costs from oil indexed contracts, which have recently proved more expensive than prices in the wholesale gas market. The companies "discussed the additional gas volumes that Europe may need in the future, following the decisions made post-Fukushima events," GDF Suez said. Several European countries, including Germany and Italy, have turned their back on nuclear power since the Japanese nuclear disaster, raising the demand for gas-fired power generation. The companies also agreed that the Nord Stream pipeline will "be a guarantee of meeting the growing energy demand of the French and European consumers in the long term," GDF Suez said. The French company is to receive around 2.5 billion cu m/year of gas through the pipeline. --Robin Sayles, newsdesk@platts.com
07/11/2011Cooperation TalksGermany's RWE Mulls Gazprom as Major Shareholderhttp://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,773601,00.html German energy firm RWE and Gazprom, Russia's largest company, have been talking about possible link-ups in the future that could include Gazprom buying a strategic stake in the company, SPIEGEL has learned. German energy firm RWE and Gazprom, Russia's largest company, are considering far-reaching cooperation and RWE could imagine Gazprom buying a major stake n it. RWE head Jürgen Grossmann met Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller in Paris on Friday to discuss gas supply contracts but also the possibility of future link-ups, SPIEGEL has learned. Grossmann told confidants after the meeting that he could imagine the Russian giant taking a long-term major stake in the company. He aims to inform his supervisory board of the outcome of the negotiations in early August. Gazprom has supplied the German company with gas for years.
Germany's decision to stop using atomic power by 2022 has left RWE in a difficult position. Grossmann has said that Berlin's decision to accelerate its nuclear power exit plans would leave the firm facing "several billions" of unexpected costs over the coming years. Adding to its costs, the German firm, a leading CO2 producer, will have to buy emissions permits starting next January. Gazprom also held talks with German energy firm E.on's CEO Johannes Teyssen on July 7 to discuss similar issues. However, relations between the two managers are said to be strained because of a long-standing conflict about high Russian gas prices.
Read more: http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2011/07/11/Nord-Stream-to-counter-Japans-gas-takeup/UPI-51581310391627/#ixzz1Rrv5cUoc PARIS, July 11 (UPI) -- The Nord Stream natural gas pipeline could help address the energy deficit that resulted from Japan's nuclear disaster, executives said. Japan was forced to take on more shipments of natural gas when a magnitude-9 earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Gerard Mestrallet, the chief executive officer at French energy company GDF Suez, welcomed his Gazprom counterpart Alexei Miller to Paris to discuss bilateral energy issues. Both companies are major shareholders in the consortium overseeing the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline. Construction on the Nord Stream pipeline started in April 2010 and it will pass through economic zones in Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany. The Nord Stream consortium said last month it was nearly finished laying the twin natural gas pipeline through the Baltic Sea to Germany. "Parties discussed the additional gas volumes that Europe may need in the future, following the decisions made post-Fukushima events," GDF Suez said in a statement on the meetings.
Read more: http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2011/07/11/Nord-Stream-to-counter-Japans-gas-takeup/UPI-51581310391627/#ixzz1Rrv9f59M Gazprom could contribute cash to JV with Renova http://www.rbcnews.com/free/20110712104924.shtml RBC, 12.07.2011, Moscow 10:49:24.Gazprom may pay in cash for its interest in a joint electric power venture with Renova, Viktor Vekselberg, chairman of Renova's board of directors, told reporters late Monday. Renova is to contribute its core power assets to the venture with Gazprom, he added. In reply to the question of whether he expects any obstacles from the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service, Vekselberg said that no problems are expected because the companies comply with the regulator's instructions. On July 7, Gazprom and Renova signed an agreement of intent to merge their power assets. Anti-Monopoly chief Igor Artemyev termed the deal unadvisable.
http://www.rbcnews.com/free/20110712112026.shtml RBC, 12.07.2011, Moscow 11:20:26.IES Holding, the energy arm of Renova, could offload its gas distribution assets to Gazprom and Itera, sources close to Gazprom told RBC Daily. Gazprom and IES Holding declined to comment on this report. Itera confirmed that such talks are being held. Itera is interested in gas distribution pipelines in the Sverdlovsk Region. The length of IES Holding's gas distribution pipelines exceeds 51,000 kilometers in Russia and Ukraine. They transport over 27.5bcm of gas annually to over 4m consumers. 12.07.2011 99 Percent of Sakhalin – Khabarovsk – Vladivostok GTS Line Weldedhttp://www.oilandgaseurasia.com/news/p/0/news/12032 Gazprom's group of experts led by Alexander Ananenkov, Deputy Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee finished a business trip to the Far East. Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk hosted a meeting on creation of the priority gas transmission facilities in the Far East as part of the state-run Eastern Gas Program implementation. Shaping of the Unified Gas Supply System in Eastern Russia creates the required conditions for sustainable socioeconomic development, growth in commercial output, gasification development, wealth and environmental improvement in a number of the Far Eastern regions. A high degree of readiness of the key facilities within the first Far Eastern Sakhalin – Khabarovsk – Vladivostok gas transmission system (GTS) was highlighted in the course of the meeting. By now, 1,333 kilometers (99 per cent) of the 1,350 kilometer long linepipe have been welded as part of the first startup complex, 1,277 kilometers have been trenched and buried. The sections constructed by now are being tested making 400 kilometers of the linepipe so far. Simultaneous efforts are being taken to construct operations bases for the Amur, Khabarovsk and Primorsky Line Pipe Operation Centers. The equipment has been fully mounted at the Sakhalin main compressor station with hydraulic testing of the gas supply lines performed. Preparations are underway to receive gas and launch the gas pumping units. Over 1,500 heavy construction machinery units and some 4,000 constructors with 1,200 of them being residents of the Far Eastern Federal District are engaged in construction of the GTS facilities. Shortly after finishing tests of the linear part Gazprom will start feeding gas into the Sakhalin – Khabarovsk – Vladivostok gas pipeline. In September 2011 natural gas will be delivered to Vladivostok including the 2012 APEC Summit venues on the Russky Island. Based on the meeting results, specific tasks were given to ensure timely implementation of the Company's investment projects in the Far East. Copyright 2011, Gazprom. All rights reserved. Directory: gifiles -> attach attach -> British Forces – Akrioti, Greece Griffin Fighter Squadron (84 Squadron raf) MoD announced possible Typhoon and Tornado arrivals to the base France attach -> Russia 110204 Basic Political Developments attach -> Unclassified//for official use only attach -> Adaptability Sustainment attach -> Pop-up 1 ("C" Chechnya) Header Text: Emir of the Caucasus Emirate Doku Umarov Image attach -> Russia and Islam are not Separate attach -> Chapter 13: The Northern Caucasus attach -> Russia 100209 Basic Political Developments attach -> The evolution attach -> The devolution Download 324.43 Kb. Share with your friends:
|