"Hard removal"

The federal center selected most of the income from Sakhalin. In violation of previous agreements and without regard to the interests of the region, the region is deprived of 68 billion rubles received from the Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project. Moreover, the Sakhalin authorities recently stated that they managed to get concessions from the Federal Center and the terms of tax redistribution would be revised. But this is not true: in fact, Moscow takes billions almost without any compensation.

Moscow intends to revise the distribution scheme of income entering the area from the Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project. If earlier the region received 75% of taxes, and 25% went to the federal center, then since 2018 the ratio has changed: only 25% is left to Sakhalin. Over the next three years, the region will lose almost 68 billion rubles.

In this story there is a lot of remarkable: how the federal government “disperses” the region, and what this way is done is suddenly, without any coordination with local authorities and contrary to the previous agreements.

Sakhalin region today is one of the most rapidly developing and rich in the country. 480 thousand people live in it - less than in Khabarovsk or Vladivostok, but in terms of foreign investment, incomes of the population, GDP and other criteria Sakhalin, the leader of not only the Far East, but all of Russia. In 2017, Sakhalin's income approaches 130 billion rubles.

We believe that this is a very strict seizure, and we would like to offer to reconsider the percentage

The region owes its wealth exclusively oil - the industry gives 70% of the budget revenues. Oil on Sakhalin began to produce 100 years ago, from the Soviet era in the north of the island, Sakhalinmorneftegaz has been operating (Rosneft's daughter). But the oil woman began to bring real wealth with the advent of foreign corporations in the early 90s. They came to the Sakhalin shelf on the terms of the Product Section agreement (SRP).

Sakhalin is the first and until recently the only region of the country who took advantage of this mechanism for the development of deposits. Only recently, on the terms of the SCP, the Kharyaginsky Oil Field began to be mastered.

The agreement on the division of products implies that all expenses for exploration, development of deposits investors are assuming, as well as production, processing and transportation. The extracted people are considered the property of the country, but it does not receive income until the costs of the project operator are compensated by oil and gas.

On Sakhalin, the period from the beginning of the development of the shelf to income was taken for almost 20 years. The Consortium "Sakhalin Energy Invest Company" (SAIC) was organized by Shell Sakhalin Holdings BV (55%) (daughter of the Netherland-British Royal Dutch Shell) and two Japanese conglomerates Mitshalin Holdings BV (25%) and Mitsubishii Corporation (20%). The company with the authorized fund of $ 100 million is registered in the Bermuda Islands. In 1994, the SEICS of one party and the Government of the Russian Federation and the administration of the Sakhalin Region signed an agreement on the division of products (SRP).

The Sakhalin-2 project received the piltun-Astokh oil field with associated gas and the Lun gas field. The signing of the SCP passed through colossal difficulties. In addition to understandable problems associated with the introduction of a new mechanism, the leadership of the region then faced resistance at all levels of power. Many deputies of the regional Duma (in those days, regional parliaments still had weight) spoke out sharply against the "looting of the country by foreign companies." Under those conditions of the SCP that were offered on Sakhalin, they are developing the bowels only in third world countries, like Angola, they said.

“The PSA project will never give the expected economic effect, this is a way of robbing future generations of the Sakhalin residents,” said one of the most ardent opponents of the SCP, deputy of the Sakhalin Duma, oil industry Anatoly Black .

Opponents of the SCP claimed that such a scheme is humiliating for the country, as it gives the investor unprecedented freedom, actually exempts from any control from Russia and promises compensation for absolutely all costs.

And partly these fears were justified: investors used the SCP to the whole coil. Understanding that absolutely any costs would be compensated, they were overgrown with foreign subcontractors and did not deny themselves anything, even the offices for offices were bought abroad for awkwardly a lot of money. From time to time, investor expenses became reasons for scandals , and local media discussed why the sand for construction should be bought in Australia, and ordinary shovels in the USA? Isn't it better?

The expansion could rent housing for any money, and renting apartments on the island became inaccessible to the locals. Here is the data of the Accounts Chamber as of January 1, 2004, Sakhalin Energy entered into renting three apartments in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk at a price of 6 thousand US dollars per month (while the rental price of a 3-4-room apartment of improved layout in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk today is from 250 to $ 500 a month, and renting a cottage-from $ 850 to 1150 a month). Sakhalin Energy also rented a three -room apartment in the village of Smirny at the price of $ 767 per month, which exceeded the existing market value of rent in the village by 15 times. "

The cost estimated in 1994 was significantly exceeded over time. And for everything ultimately, Russia paid with oil and gas.

But at the same time, foreign investors brought to the island the latest technologies. Thanks to them, the first in Russia and one of the largest in the Asia-Pacific region was built a gas liquefaction plant. The pipeline and modern oil and gas complexes appeared in the region. Until recently, one well at the Chauvo field (Sakhalin-1 operator) produced more oil per day than all the Sakhalinmorneftegaz wells together.

And then foreign projects began to bring money to the country. As soon as they began to pump oil and gas, royalties began to be paid to the budget - 6% of the extracted. In 2014, two years ahead of schedule (thanks to a jump in oil prices), Sakhalin-2 came to profit, and Russia began to receive 32% of the consortium income. Then from the Seik Russia received the first large tranche.

Today, the entire oil industry gives the regional budget 70% of the income, and it is the SEIC that provides 80% of these revenues.

As this money is distributed between Moscow and Sakhalin, Sakhalin-2 was not negotiated in the SHP. The Budget Code of the Russian Federation prescribed that 75% will remain in the region, and go 25% to the federal center. But if the SRP agreement is protected from amendments in Russian legislation, then Russian laws can change Russian laws as you like. So it is changing-since 2018, Sakhalin will receive only 25% of Sakhalin-2 taxes. The area is not read by a third of the budget - 33 billion rubles. For three years, losses will amount to almost 68 billion rubles.

For comparison: in the SCP according to the Sakhalin-1 project (the production is conducted by Exson Neftegaz Limited, the daughter of the American Exxonmobil) the distribution scheme is prescribed-the document is fixed that 22% of the profit is sent to the regional budget, and 13% to the federal. Oil production in Sakhalin-1 began in 2005 and will last until 2040 or 2050. And all this time, the income distribution scheme will remain - Moscow cannot change it.

In the story with the removal of oil money, a lot is strange.

We are ready to share, but not as tough as it happens now

The initiative to revise the distribution scheme of income belongs, at least officially, the Ministry of Health and its head Yuri Trutnev. It was believed that Trutnev and the Sakhalin governor Oleg Kozhemyako had a very close contact. But it turns out that the minister did not even inform the governor about the plans of the center to select most of the oil revenues from the region, and the Sakhalin authorities turned the budget, not suspecting a sharp reduction in income.

Both Kozhemyako and the chairman of the Sakhalin government Vera Shcherbin, and the deputies later assured that the news was a complete surprise for them. The Minister of Economic Development of the region Sergey Karpenko also says about this.

- For everyone, this is really unpleasant news. An attempt will be competed. Actions are needed on the field of the Government of the Russian Federation and in the Federal Assembly. For what to fight - in the text, amendments to the Budget Code must change the tax distribution figures between the federal and regional budget. There is a chance. We need arguments, not emotions. And yes, public opinion is an important factor, ”says Sergey Karpenko.

But one of the deputy chairman of the Sakhalin government, in a private conversation with the Siberia.m. Real correspondent, claimed that the negotiations of Sakhalin-2 money from Sakhalin-2 led with Sakhalin for more than a year. And that the regional authorities at first managed to fight off the claims of the federal center. In January 2017, a government order appeared in which it was a question of Sakhalin-2 money. And it seems that this order was protected by the regional budget.

At the end of September, the Sakhalin authorities still believed - or pretended to believe in the possibility of defending oil money for the region. Vera Shcherbina flew to Moscow at a meeting of the Federation Council, where the country's budget for 2018 was discussed.

-We believe that this is a very strict seizure, and we would like to offer to reconsider the percentage. We are well aware that it is planned to increase wages in all constituent entities of the Russian Federation from next year, we are ready to share, but not as tough as it is now, ” said Shcherbina then.

The Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation Anton Siluanov , at the same meeting of the Council, explaining the decision to pick up money, said that the region simply cannot dispose of income .

- 40 billion rubles are not used, they are on the accounts. The money that we will pick up will be allowed to develop the Far East, including Sakhalin. The funds will be used more efficiently, ”he answered to the performance of Shcherbina.

In fairness, in part, he is right. In the region, there are really a lot of money that did not work for whom: government agencies often, instead of investing, invested billions in the bank. Where interest went, you can only guess.

All the money was taken away from us, and we washed. For this, in a good way, the governor and all United Russia need to resign aside

- A Sakhalin Development Corporation was created, which allocated 50 billion rubles from the regional budget. The very least invested 5.2 billion. And the rest were in the accounts. We do not have documents regulating the use of interest. And after checks, the control and accounting chamber simply states: there is interest. What is spent on, the tenth is already. For example, the Sakhalin oil company received 580 million rubles from the budget. Scrolled in a bank. Received 19 million as a percent. And I bought apartments in a fashionable residential complex, ”says Galina Podoynikova, deputy of the regional Duma of the past convocation.

However, on Sakhalin, the version that they cannot dispose of their funds on the spot is not popular. The deputies of the Sakhalin Duma prepared and sent a negative conclusion to Moscow to a decision to revise the scheme. They indicated that the region would lose more than a third of income and it would be necessary to reduce 25 social and investment programs.

The Sakhalin residents were sure that there was still time to compete. Indeed, in order to redistribute the income of the SRP, it is required to pre -amend the budget code. To do this, they had to be accepted in the State Duma.

But on October 27, the State Duma accepts the country's budget in the first reading, and it turned out that it was renewed, taking into account the fact that the federal center would receive 75% of Sakhalin-2 taxes. Amendments to the Budget Code at that time have not yet been adopted.

It is noteworthy that on the same day, October 27, the news was widely dispersed in the media that Oleg Kozhemyako managed to defend part of the Sakhalin money. Which, in 2018, the region is compensated by the losses of 33 billion rubles with subsidies, and in 2019 the scheme will look like "50 % of the income from the SRP-Sakhalin, 50 % to the center." Allegedly, this was agreed upon at a meeting with Yuri Trutnev, at which the head of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation Anton Siluanov was attended. But in the text of the meeting protocol there is not a word about the division of "50 to 50", and as for compensation for 2018, it is said that it is possible to subsidize programs in the amount of up to 15 billion rubles.

Where did the data of victorious releases come from, it is incomprehensible.

- Who are we deceiving? There are no 50%, there are no compensations. All the money was taken away from us, and we washed. For this, in a good way, the governor and all United Russia need to resign, ”said the deputy of the regional Duma, a member of the Communist Party of the Communist Party Svetlana Ivanova on November 2 at a meeting of the regional parliament.

On the eve of November 1 in the evening, the deputies sent a draft federal budget with proposals to amend. Amendments were required to prepare, approve and make in less than a day until November 3. The deputies did not do this - it was a deliberately impossible task. But some of them insisted that a negative conclusion should again be directed to this project in order to at least express the dissatisfaction of the Sakhalin residents. Most, however, refused to do this.

Then it became known that a day later, on November 3, on the official form of the regional Duma, signed by the chairman Andrei Khapochkin, a letter left the Speaker of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin, which says that "we believe that it is possible to agree with the draft Federal Law No. 274618-7" On the federal budget for 2018 and the planning period of 2019 and 2020 "in the editorial office providing for the coating of part falling income of the Sakhalin Region by providing subsidies at the expense of the federal budget. "

When the story of Khapochkin's letter revealed, the deputies took him as a betrayal and already sent their appeal to Volodin. Moreover, the reason for the appeal was good - the suction when adopting amendments to the Budget Code.

The fact is that the draft Federal Law No. 235903–7 with the name "On amendments to Article 6, 56 and 611 of the Budget Code of the Russian Federation" was submitted to the State Duma on October 18. According to the law, amendments before the first reading are discussed in the regions, and local deputies can make their proposals. The Sakhalin people had no complaints about the text. But by the second reading in the draft Law No. 2437–7, amendments appeared, which were radically changed. But according to the law, the regions of the second reading are not discussed.

"The bill introduced changes to the operation of the paragraph of the fourth article 50 from January 1, 2018 to January 1, 2018 and the third paragraph of the third paragraph 2 of Article 56 of the Budget Code and establishing the income tax standards for the Sakhalin-2 project for the federal budget-for the federal budget and for the subject of the subject-25 percent. The Duma expresses its disagreement with the adopted amendments and draws attention to the inadmissibility of the further adoption of the key decisions for the subjects by making amendments to the laws for the second reading without coordination with the subjects of the right of legislative initiative in the State Duma. And the right of the subject to uphold their interests, ”the letter of regional discontinu deputies says to the State Duma.

Well, the speaker Khapochkin had to make excuses for his letter with the approval of the decision of Moscow.

- Negotiations with the federal center took place at all possible sites, the debate and discussions were very difficult. And in order to achieve a compromise, legislative and executive authorities of the region, they had to show that they were ready to meet the federal government.

Understanding that the score is for minutes, on my own behalf - a few minutes before the decisive meeting in the Government of the Russian Federation - I sent a letter to the chairman of the State Duma. Thus, a compromise was reached and instead of “zero” we returned to the regional budget half of the “Sakhalin” 33 billion planned by the federal government in 2018 for the development of other regions of the country. And if my letter helped to return 16.8 billion rubles to the budget of the Sakhalin Region, I am ready to repeat it again, ”said Andrei Khapochkin .

Experienced deputies are sure that Khapochkin, who took the place of the chairman of the Duma two months ago, could not write a letter without sanction from above. But he will have to answer for him. Moreover, perhaps, the region will not see the promised 18 billion rubles.

- Subsides of the federal budget are not a piece of money that was postponed for Sakhalin and it lies until it is needed. The distribution of subventions clearly regulates the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of September 30, 2014 No. 999 "On the formation, provision and distribution of subsidies from the federal budget to the budgets of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation". On it, in order to get money, the region must fulfill two conditions: firstly, to present a project or program for which money is needed, and the second-co-financing. Теоретически выполнить эти условия можно, но на деле это крайне сложно, а в нашем случае, когда до конца года считаные дни, и вовсе невыполнимо. За несколько недель область должна не только представить проект, подходящий под строгие требования центра, но и найти под него деньги в области, когда бюджет уже сверстан, – говорит Галина Подойникова .

В области уже почти не обсуждается вариант, что деньги СРП вернутся в область. Хотя бюджет области на 2018 год сверстан без учета необходимости экономить, хотя расходы сохранились на уровне 2017 года. Ну а дальше придется сильно экономить: доходы Сахалина на 2019 год ранее были запланированы на уровне 72,7 млрд рублей. Но Москва заберет порядка 17 млрд рублей. Чтобы понимать уровень ущерба для регионального бюджета, нужно знать, что это столько, сколько в 2017 году направляли на социальную поддержку населения. 16,1 млрд – затраты на госпрограмму развития образования, 16,4 млрд – программа поддержки здравоохранения на 2017 год. Фактически Сахалин остается без финансирования целых отраслей.

Но почти все понимают: во всей области в четыре раза меньше избирателей, чем в одном Новосибирске. В преддверии выборов президента России это имеет куда большее значение, чем планы маленького региона на его собственные деньги.