Russia 110811 Basic Political Developments
Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)
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- Court lets LUKOIL Bulgarian refinery operate for now
- TNK-BP investors cry BP foul
- Sovcomflot makes seismic move
Activity in the Oil and Gas sector (including regulatory)Bulgarian court backs LUKoil in dispute with customshttp://en.rian.ru/world/20110810/165695336.html 22:56 10/08/2011 ATHENS, August 10 (RIA Novosti)A higher administrative court in Bulgaria upheld on Wednesday a lower court's decision to annul the ban on an oil refinery belonging to Russian oil giant LUKoil, the Novinite.com agency said. The Bulgarian customs earlier withdrew a license from the LUKoil Neftochim Burgas, the largest oil refinery in southeastern Europe, for allegedly failing to properly monitor the movement of oil products, which helps prevent any possible tax evasion. A court later ruled that Bulgaria's largest enterprise could resume work, but customs appealed the decision. The higher court upheld the ruling, saying a halt in the oil refinery's operations would cause serious economic damage. The oil refinery has contracts with local transportation companies and is the sole producer of aviation fuel on the Balkans. The Bulgarian authorities were forced to unlock their strategic reserves of aviation fuel when the plant suspended its operations. This court decision will allow the oil refinery to run until the end of the year, when LUKoil has promised to install the required equipment, according to Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, who has also criticized the company for alleged violations. Court lets LUKOIL Bulgarian refinery operate for nowhttp://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL6E7JA0CH20110810 Wed Aug 10, 2011 3:43pm GMT SOFIA Aug 10 (Reuters) - Russian oil company LUKOIL's Bulgarian refinery can continue operating until a final ruling is given on a tax dispute with the customs office, a top Bulgarian court ruled on Wednesday. Bulgaria's Supreme Administrative Court upheld a previous court ruling that allowed the 142,000 barrels-per-day refinery to restart work after the customs office stripped it of key licences blocking its processing and sales at the end of July. A court session on the tax dispute is scheduled for Aug. 31. The revocation of the licences, followed by a probe into allegations of abuse of a dominant market position, is part of the Bulgarian government's efforts to boost transparency in the fuel market. It also indicates a deepening rift with Russia over energy. The actions aimed at LUKOIL, which many in the poorest European Union state blame for high fuel prices, is likely to boost support for the centre-right government ahead of October local and presidential polls. They are also meant to show Brussels that the cabinet of Prime Minister Boiko Borisov, urged to work harder to fight high-level corruption, is willing to impose strict rules. Sofia and LUKOIL have indicated a solution is likely to be found as the Russian oil major is the Balkan country's key fuel provider and taxpayer and has invested over $1.7 billion in its operations there since 1999. The Burgas refinery provides about 70 percent of the fuels on the local market, secures jobs for about 6,000 people and its payments to the state budget for the first six months make 13 percent of all tax revenues. It is the only jet fuel supplier for Bulgaria's airports and its temporary shutdown forced the government to release jet fuel stocks from state reserves. The customs office stripped the refinery of its tax fuel depot licences after it failed to install on time product metering designed to let customs officers monitor its output and calculate taxes and excise duties precisely. The oil plant has pledged to have the meters installed by December and argued the government's deadline was unrealistic, given the complexity of its facilities. It appealed against the revocation of the licences. (Reported by Tsvetelia Tsolova; Editing by Anthony Barker) TNK-BP investors cry BP foulhttp://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article271505.ece A group of minority shareholders in TNK-BP reportedly are claiming damages of 87 billion roubles ($2.96 billion) against BP for being denied the opportunity to replace the UK supermajor in an Arctic exploration pact with Rosneft. News wires 10 August 2011 12:12 GMT TNK-BP, owned 50:50 by BP and Russian consortium AAR, had earlier this year sought to replace the UK supermajor in a planned tie-up with the Russian state oil company, which included developing three Arctic offshore blocks and a $16 billion share swap. However, BP directors on the TNK-BP board voted against the proposal. Now the minority investors in TNK-BP Holding, the listed unit of TNK-BP Ltd, claim BP executives who previously served on the Russian joint venture’s board were responsible for losses caused by thwarting its bid to participate in the Rosneft deal, Dow Jones reported. An arbitration court in Tyumen, where TNK-BP is registered, will file a claim against BP and BP Russian Investments Limited - a shareholder in TNK-BP - on 21 September, the shareholders said in a statement. Another hearing against the TNK-BP Holding board members will take place on 12 October. The claims, which resemble actions brought by TNK-BP minority owners during a high-profile shareholder battle at TNK-BP in 2008, follow threats by TNK-BP earlier this year to seek damages from the UK giant. The planned deal between BP and Rosneft collapsed in May after being blocked in court by BP's partners in TNK-BP. The shareholders’ claim is the latest move in an apparent behind-the-scenes spat between the co-venturers, after BP filed arbitration proceedings in a Swedish court against Russian businessman Viktor Vekselberg, a partner in TNK-BP, for allegedly violating the terms of shareholder agreements related to the joint venture. Published: 10 August 2011 12:12 GMT | Last updated: 10 August 2011 12:24 GMT Rosneft discovers new oil field in Eastern Siberia http://www.bne.eu/dispatch_text16336 VTB Capital August 11, 2011 News: According to Interfax, Rosneft has discovered a new oil field with approximate recoverable resources of 15mmtn in Eastern Siberia. This is the fourth oil field discovered by Rosneft in the region over the last few years, with cumulative C1+C2 resources amounting to 370mmtn. A decision on whether to explore the oil field is to be taken at a later date. Our View: The news is positive for the company, as even an incremental addition to its East Siberia portfolio provides an additional justification for the company's rush into buying East Siberian licences in 2004-08. However, from the portfolio point of view, we believe that the company has an extensive bluefield base, while the greenfield part of its portfolio could be better. As result, we do not expect any stock reaction.
Eoin O'Cinneide 11 August 2011 08:02 GMT State-controlled Sovcomflot has taken the freshly-delivered Polarcus Selma for five years for survey work in the Arctic, Polarcus revealed in a statement on Thursday. The deal at a dayrate of $69,500 starts this month and also leaves Moscow-headquartered Sovcomflot with a purchase option on the vessel after three years. Polarcus described the charter deal as “the first step towards a larger strategic business alliance to serve the growing Russian seismic market”. A spokesperson at Sovcomflot was unwilling to discuss details of the contract saying the company would make a statement in a matter of weeks. He did, however, confirm that this was the Russian’s maiden splash in the seismic market. The Polarcus Selma is an Ulstein SX133-design, Arctic-ready vessel which was just delivered to the owner by Dubai-based shipbuilder Drydocks World on Monday. It comes equipped with an eight-streamer seismic equipment package. Sovcomflot, Russia’s largest tanker owner, currently has nothing approaching a seismic vessel in its fleet which is made up predominantly of oil, products and chemical tankers with some bulk carriers, LNG and LPG vessels, tugs and ice-breakers. The purchase option suggests that the company could be considering a long-term play on the seismic and perhaps offshore markets. On Wednesday Statoil announced it had started a charter deal with Norwegian oil giant Statoil for the transport of crude from the Peregrino field off Brazil. The deal will run for three to five years with Statoil using the Russian’s aframax tankers. Published: 11 August 2011 08:02 GMT | Last updated: 7 minutes ago 1 06:47 CET 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 299.65 Kb. Share with your friends:
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