with Lugansk region of Ukraine

On Thursday, the delegation of the Rostov region, led by Governor Vladimir Chub, returned from the Ukrainian Donbass, where they held negotiations with the leadership of the Lugansk region. During the meetings, a program of joint actions was signed for the implementation of the Cooperation Agreement between the Lugansk and Rostov regions for 2005, according to which it is planned to establish gas supplies from the Markov gas condensate field to the Lugansk Azot plant, as well as organize joint production of mainline freight locomotives. However, some local analysts believe that these projects are clearly declarative in nature. In preparation for the signing of the program, on November 11, a delegation from the Lugansk region, headed by the chairman of the regional state administration, Alexander Efremov, visited Rostov. And on November 17, Mr. Chub paid a return visit to Donbass, where documents on cooperation between the regions for the next five years were signed. The most significant of the projects included in the program are the agreement on organizing gas supplies from the Markov gas condensate field to the Lugansk Azot plant, as well as the establishment of joint production of a mainline freight locomotive by Luganskteplovoz Holding Company and Novocherkassk NEVZ.

As the administration of the Rostov region explained to Kommersant, the first project involves joint production of gas and its transportation to the Severodonetsk enterprise Azot (Lugansk region) according to the so-called tolling scheme for the purpose of producing fertilizers and supplying them in certain shares to the Don. As part of the second project, it is planned to establish, on the basis of OJSC Holding Company Luganskteplovoz, the assembly of main-line freight locomotives, components for which (electrical machines and devices) will be supplied by the Novocherkassk Electric Locomotive Plant. As Kommersant was told by CJSC Transmashholding, which is the owner of NEVZ, according to an agreement with the State Enterprise Ukrzaliznytsia, it is planned to supply components for mainline electric locomotives to Ukraine worth over EURO100 million. By 2010, it is planned to assemble 51 locomotives in this way, which will fully satisfy the needs of Ukraine. in electric freight locomotives.

At the same time, local analysts believe that this agreement is most likely of a declarative pre-election nature. From their point of view, the “gas” project is the most questionable, since Dongazdobycha, which is developing the Markovskoye field, has never worked directly with Ukrainian companies, which are also its direct competitors, extracting raw materials from the Markovskoye field on their territory. The “electric locomotive” project is not particularly optimistic: the Lugansk enterprise specializes in the construction of diesel locomotives and is unlikely to become a profitable partner for NEVZ. In addition, it is possible that if Viktor Yushchenko wins the presidential elections in Ukraine, the program signed in Lugansk will have to be revised altogether.

SERGEY KISIN

Kommersant (Rostov) No. 218 dated November 20, 2004, p. 12

Rostov region will share gas