Eastern hegemon

Gazprom completes the formation of a resource base from the Urals to the Pacific Ocean

After Gazprom announced that it was part of the project to develop Kovykta , the Rosnedra commission in just one and a half working days made the only correct decision: the head of the department, Anatoly Ledovskikh, was recommended not to revoke the license for this field from RUSIA Petroleum. , which failed to fulfill its obligations to supply 9 billion cubic meters of gas to consumers in the Irkutsk region in 2006. “This seems to be true,” Deputy Minister of Natural Resources Alexei Varlamov said yesterday on Ekho Moskvy. He explained that the head of Rosnedra must take into account all the possibilities for developing this deposit in Eastern Siberia. “I think Ledovskikh is a fairly wise leader who will make a decision from a position of common sense,” said Mr. Varlamov, admitting that “it is of no interest to anyone to slow down this decision, which is very important for everyone.”

On June 22, Gazprom signed a binding agreement with TNK-BP to purchase a 62.9% stake in RUSIA Petroleum. The amount has not yet been agreed upon, most likely it will be $700-800 million. The deal will be closed within 90 days, that is, by September 20. Deputy Chairman of the Board of Gazprom Alexander Medvedev, who signed the document, admitted that the commissioning date for Kovykta would be changed (during the negotiations, the concern insisted that gas supplies from the field were unpromising until at least 2017).

As you know, Gazprom previously bought a controlling stake in another gas project in the east of the country, Sakhalin-2, for $7.45 billion. And now he has entered into an active struggle for the gas resources of Sakhalin-1. Yesterday, at a briefing on politics in Eastern Siberia and the Far East, the head of the coordination department for Gazprom's eastern projects, Viktor Timoshilov, confirmed that the concern was inviting state representatives in Sakhalin-1 to vote against gas supplies to China. According to him, officials representing the interests of Russia in the project (as a party to the production sharing agreement) must take into account the priority of supplies of Sakhalin gas to the domestic market. According to him, in 2010 in the Far East a gas deficit of 10 billion cubic meters is predicted, and in 2015 - 8 billion cubic meters. “And Sakhalin-1 gas would come in handy here,” he believes.

And Mr. Medvedev outlined the commercial prospects of Sakhalin-1 participants in the gas sector. “What does it mean to sell gas to China when there is no pipeline there? “I can’t imagine how a pipe for 8 billion cubic meters of gas (this is exactly the volume that the project operator Exxon Neftegaz has at its disposal. - - Ed. ) can be economically effective,” said a top manager of Gazprom. “Taking into account the fact that in 2011 the principle of equal profitability of exports and domestic sales will prevail in the Russian market, we are offering Exxon conditions that may be very acceptable for it in terms of sharing the risks that it faces today.” And he even offered an alternative to the American company. According to him, it was decided that Gazprom and Sakhalin Energy (the operator of the Sakhalin-2 project, within which it is planned to export liquefied gas) can negotiate with Exxon Neftegaz on gas purchases separately. “This means they have a choice,” stated Mr. Medvedev.

He chose not to talk about how the principle of priority of domestic consumers will be implemented if Sakhalin-1 shareholders prefer to sell gas to Sakhalin Energy. As well as about the real amount of environmental damage within the framework of the Sakhalin-2 project. As you know, last fall Rosprirodnadzor, after checking the activities of Sakhalin Energy, announced colossal violations during the construction of 900 km of pipelines from the fields to the gas liquefaction terminal. The amount of possible claims was close to $10 billion. But after Gazprom entered the project, the ardor of officials clearly faded. Moreover, neither the company nor the environmental department announced an action plan for restoring the island’s ecosystem, as well as the amount and source of funds that will be allocated for these purposes. Yesterday, Mr. Medvedev also did not answer this question, saying only that the claims have not evaporated, and the company is working on a comprehensive plan to eliminate and prevent violations. In addition, according to him, the amount of $7.45 billion that Gazprom paid Shell, Mitsui and Mitsubishi for a controlling stake in Sakhalin Energy was obtained after applying a discount due to environmental problems.

Alexey GRIVACHS