EU says making progress on gas loan to Ukraine

(UKRAINE, RUSSIA, EUROPE, EUROPEAN, SUPPLIES, RUSSIAN, POSSIBLE)

Delivering gas to Europe
A map of Russian gas suppliers to Europe via Ukraine
Russia resumes gas supplies to Ukraine
Russia Ukraine sign gas deal
BRUSSELS, June 29 (RIA Novosti) - The European Commission said Monday that progress has been made on the issue of giving Ukraine an international loan to pay Russia for natural gas.
The statement was issued after high-level talks involving representatives of gas companies Gazprom and Naftogaz, the World Bank, the IMF, the EBRD and the EU.
"The participants made good progress in identifying the key issues of concern and elements for possible solutions including possible financing arrangements," the representatives said in a joint statement.
The ex-Soviet state is seeking a syndicated loan of over $4 billion from European banks to pay it debts to Russian energy giant Gazprom until November 2009.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said in early June it would be difficult for the EU to help Ukraine keep up with its payments.
Russia, which supplies around one fifth of Europe`s gas, briefly shut down supplies via Ukraine`s pipeline system at the start of the year during a dispute with Kiev over unpaid debt.
The conflict was resolved in January, when Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Yulia Tymoshenko, agreed deals on deliveries to and gas transit through Ukraine for 2009.
Ukraine transits around 80% of Russia`s Europe-bound gas.
 
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Gas contracts with Ukraine will not be changed - Gazprom CEO

Gazprom to buy 0.5 bcm of Azerbaijani gas annually from 2010

(AZERBAIJANI, GAZPROM, AZERBAIJAN, RUSSIAN, VOLUME, BILLION, SUPPLIES)

BAKU, June 29 (RIA Novosti) - Gazprom will buy 500 million cubic meters of natural gas from Azerbaijan annually from January 1, 2010, CEO Alexei Miller said on Monday.
The Russian energy giant, which has not so far bought Azerbaijani gas, signed an agreement with the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) earlier in the day.
"Gazprom will buy Azerbaijani gas from January 1, 2010. Initially we will buy 500 million cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas," Miller said, without disclosing either the price or the pricing formula.
"The agreement signed today fixes a basic price that is commercially attractive to our Azerbaijani partners," the Russian businessman said.
The agreed volume of deliveries from SOCAR is less than one tenth of one percent of the 549.7 billion cubic meters of gas Gazprom itself produced last year.
Azerbaijan plans eventually to increase gas supplies to Russia, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said.
"We plan in the future to increase supplies as the volume of Azerbaijani natural gas production goes up," Aliyev said on Monday after talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Baku.
According to the Gazprom CEO, Azerbaijani gas to be pumped via a pipeline running between the two countries will be used in south Russian territories. He also pledged that similar volumes of gas would be reserved for European consumers.
Miller added that Gazprom was listed as a potential buyer of gas from the Shakh Deniz field with some privileges reserved for the company.
"We are confident that Gazprom has very good negotiating positions regarding long-term cooperation in the purchase of Azerbaijani gas," he said.
Speaking in early June at an oil conference in Azerbaijan`s capital, Baku, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Matthew Bryza said that in 2012-2015 Azerbaijan would supply Europe with 12 billion cu m of gas from its Shakh Deniz field alone, raising supplies to 15 billion by 2015, and increasing them further by 2015-2020.
 
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Putin says Russia will continue cheap energy supplies to Belarus

(PRICE, BELARUS, PUTIN, 1000, RUSSIAN, AVERAGE, CUBIC)

NOVO-OGARYOVO, June 28 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will continue for the near future to sell oil and gas to Belarus at subsidized rates to support the country`s economy, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Sunday.
"For the near future we intend to continue this, while bearing in mind the tendency toward switching to world price levels for hydrocarbons," Putin told leaders of factions in the State Duma, the lower house of parliament.
Putin`s pledge comes amid a dispute with Belarus over payments for Russian natural gas, which was massively discounted until 2007.
Gazprom announced on Friday it had sent Belarus a letter demanding it pay $244 million in gas debts, and warning that supplies could be cut if the sum is not cleared.
The debt has arisen due to differences between contract and average prices. In the first quarter Belarus paid $210 per 1,000 cubic meters, but by the end of the year this figure should have dropped to under $100. In line with verbal agreements the price should average out at $150 per 1,000 cubic meters.
Belarusian First Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Semashko said on Friday that the government expects Russian gas prices to reach $166 per 1,000 cubic meters on January 1, 2010 if oil prices remain around the $70 per barrel mark this year. The rate is still well below the average rate Russia charges European Union countries for its gas.
The countries have in the past also clashed over Russian oil sales to Belarus, which had also been heavily discounted until the end of 2006. After Russia raised the oil price for Minsk, while keeping it below international prices, Belarus imposed a tariff on oil pipeline transit via its territory, triggering a temporary cut-off in early 2007.
 
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Russian budget revenue to account for 16% of GDP in 2009 - Putin

(BUDGET, GDP, RUSSIA, 2009, REVENUE, PUTIN, WHICH)

NOVO-OGARYOVO, June 28 (RIA Novosti) - Federal budget revenue will account for about 16% of national GDP in 2009, and the same figure is expected in 2010-2012, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Sunday.
At a meeting with the heads of State Duma factions, Putin said that some estimates put this figure at 15.7%-16.5% of GDP.
"This is a normal and stable level of revenue, which we count on," he said, adding that budget revenue made up 23-24% of GDP in the pre-crisis years.
Russia has been hard hit by the global financial crisis, which has forced the government to review spending amid declining revenues, while maintaining social commitments.
The premier said that the budget deficit should not exceed 2-3% of GDP in the future.
In 2009, Russia is expected to post a budget deficit for the first time in recent years. Russia`s Finance Ministry expects the budget deficit to reach 7.5%-9% of GDP in 2009, and up to 10% of GDP in 2010 taking into account spending from the National Welfare Fund.
Putin said the yearly price of oil could average $50-55 per barrel in 2009, compared with the price of $41 projected in the federal budget.
The global financial crisis has forced Russia, which receives a large part of its revenue from oil exports, to gradually devalue the ruble amid capital flight and a fall in global oil prices, which declined from their peak of $147 per barrel in July 2008 to around $40 per barrel in early 2009, before climbing back in recent weeks to about $70.
Putin also said that Russia would continue its ban on imports of agricultural equipment this year and next year.
"We will not yield to pressure to open up our market for imported agricultural equipment," Putin said.
 
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Total, Shell shortlisted for Yamal LNG project - Gazprom

(GAZPROM, YAMAL, PROJECT, NOVATEK, SHELL, MEDVEDEV, LNG)

MOSCOW, June 26 (RIA Novosti) - Total and Shell have made it onto the shortlist of participants in the Yamal liquefied gas project in northwest Siberia, a Gazprom deputy CEO said on Friday.
The Russian energy giant chose the Yamal Peninsula as a region of strategic interest in January 2002. The development of the Yamal fields, according to estimates, could produce annually up to 310-360 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas by 2030.
"We have agreed to have Total and Shell shortlisted for the Yamal LNG [project]," Alexander Medvedev said, adding that Japan`s Mitsui and Mitsubishi were expected to obtain minority stakes in the project.
The two Japanese companies hold 12.5% and 10%, respectively, in the Sakhalin II oil and gas project being developed by Gazprom in the Russian Far East. Royal Dutch Shell controls a 27.5% stake.
The Gazprom official said if an investment decision is taken, the LNG plant would process resources from the Tambeiskaya group of fields, including the South Tambeiskoye field owned by Novatek, Russia`s largest independent gas producer.
"We have agreed to hold talks with Novatek to consider their proposals on developing the field, and we will work together," Medvedev said. Gazprom controls about 20% in Novatek.
Gazprom, which saw a 57% plunge year-on-year in gas exports to Europe in January-April, said earlier in June it was set to "increase the pace of producing and supplying liquefied natural gas."
 
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Gazprom says could cut gas supplies to Belarus over unpaid debts

(BELARUS, PRICE, RUSSIAN, FIRST, AVERAGE, GAZPROM, SEMASHKO)

MOSCOW, June 26 (RIA Novosti) - Gazprom has sent Belarus a letter demanding it pay $244 million in gas debts, and warning that supplies could be cut if the sum is not cleared, the Russian energy giant`s CEO said on Friday.
"Belarus` debt totals $244 million, and we have sent a letter demanding that the debt be paid," Alexei Miller said.
Belarusian First Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Semashko said Friday in parliament that his country would keep paying for Russian gas at the average annual price, and will start to repay the debt to Gazprom.
The debt has arisen due to differences between contract and average prices, in the first quarter Belarus paid $210 per 1,000 cubic meters, but by the end of the year this figure should have dropped to under $100. In line with verbal agreements the price should average out at $150 per 1,000 cubic meters.
"From August we will start repaying the debt and by November we should be paying in full the actual price," he said.
Semashko said Belarusian gas company Beltransgaz on March 20 handed Gazprom an addendum to the contract stipulating that Belarus pay the average annual price. "But the addendum has not been signed yet," he said.
He also said the Belarusian government expects Russian gas prices to reach $166 per 1,000 cubic meters on January 1, 2010 if oil prices remain around the $70 per barrel mark this year.
Semashko said Belarus has failed to pump 2 billion cu m of gas into storage facilities in the first half of this year, but added that Gazprom is not expected to take any action against Belarus for this.
"Incomplete gas samples are not a specific problem for Belarus. In the first quarter of this year the European Union failed to receive about 30% of the expected volume of Russian gas, and Ukraine 40%," he said.
 
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Gas contracts with Ukraine will not be changed - Gazprom CEO

([FINANCIAL], UKRAINE, RUSSIAN, SUPPLIES, RUSSIA, GAZPROM, UKRAINIAN)

A map of Russian gas suppliers to Europe via Ukraine
MOSCOW, June 26 (RIA Novosti) - Gas contracts with Ukraine will not be revised, despite the Ukrainian president`s demands, the head of Russian energy giant Gazprom said at an annual meeting of shareholders on Friday.
Ukraine`s Viktor Yushchenko has called for a review of 10-year gas supply and transit contracts signed with Russia at the turn of 2009.
"The contracts should be implemented and are not subject to change," Miller said, adding that he "understood" the problems facing his Ukrainian partners.
Russian authorities have repeatedly voiced concerns that Ukraine will not have enough money to pay for gas supplies, which would cause difficulties for Russia and European gas consumers. The next payment is due on July 7.
Yushchenko said last Friday that Naftogaz was $2 billion short of being able to pump natural gas into its underground storage systems to prepare for winter. The ex-Soviet state is seeking a syndicated loan of over $4 billion from European banks to pay it debts to Gazprom until November 2009.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said on Thursday Ukraine had pumped 1.1 billion cubic meters in June and pledged to pay $250 million for gas supplies in June on time.
Kiev paid some $500 million for 2.38 bcm of Russian natural gas in May, according to Naftogaz.
The Gazprom CEO urged Ukraine to come up with a comprehensive solution to the payments issue.
"The Naftogaz [financial] situation is considered serious. We hope international financial organizations will make the correct decision and that together with Russia they will be able to arrange Russian gas purchases for Ukraine," Miller said.
He also expressed hope that there would not be another gas crisis with Ukraine and pledged Gazprom would do "everything possible" to prevent it.
Russia, which supplies around one fifth of Europe`s gas, briefly shut down supplies via Ukraine`s pipeline system at the start of the year over Kiev`s unpaid debt.
The conflict was resolved in January, when the Russian and Ukrainian premiers agreed on $1.7 as a fee for transiting 1,000 cubic meters of natural gas per 100 km for 2009.
 
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Russian firm pledges to deliver frigates to India on schedule

(FRIGATES, SHIPYARD, RUSSIA, THREE, KRIVAK, OFFICIAL, CLASS)

The 4th International Maritime Defense Show in St. Petersburg
ST. PETERSBURG, June 26 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will fulfill its obligations on schedule to supply three Project 11356 frigates to India by 2012, a shipbuilding industry official said on Friday.
Russia is building three Project 11356 Krivak IV class guided missile frigates for the Indian Navy at the Yantar shipyard in Russia`s Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad as part of a $1.6 billion contract signed in July, 2006.
"The contract`s deadline is 2012. We are not expecting any delays at this point," general director of the Yantar shipyard Igor Orlov said at the 4th International Maritime Defense Show in St. Petersburg.
The official said the hulls of all three vessels had been laid down at the shipyard.
"The first ship will be floated out this year, the second, probably, in spring 2010, and the third - a bit later," he said, adding that the Indian government had provided sufficient and timely project financing.
A delegation of Indian military officials, led by India`s deputy chief of the naval staff, Vice Adm. Raman P Suthan, visited the Yantar shipyard in October last year and said it was satisfied with the pace and the construction quality.
Russia previously built in 2004 three Krivak class frigates - INS Talwar, INS Trishul and INS Tabar - for India, but they all were delivered late.
All of the new frigates will be armed with eight BrahMos supersonic anti-ship cruise missile systems and not the Club-N/3M54TE missile system, which was installed on previous frigates.
The Krivak class frigate has deadweight of 4,000 metric tons and a speed of 30 knots, and is capable of accomplishing a wide range of maritime missions, primarily hunting down and destroying large surface ships and submarines.
 
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Russia to take part in Indian diesel submarine tender

(SUBMARINE, CLASS, RUSSIA, AZIZOV, ST, 636, DIESEL)

The 4th International Maritime Defense Show in St. Petersburg
Russian naval task force completes exercise in the Atlantic
Nuclear submarine accident caused by fire-safety system
ST. PETERSBURG, June 26 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will participate in an expected tender to supply diesel-electric submarines to the Indian navy, the Russian state arms exporter said on Friday.
"We will offer India an export version of the Lada class diesel submarine - the Amur class vessel. We will take part in the Indian tender when it is announced with these submarines or vessels of another class," said Oleg Azizov, head of Rosoboronexport`s delegation at the International Maritime Defense Show 2009 in St. Petersburg.
"We have a bilateral cooperation agreement [in the military-technical sphere] until 2020, which includes the possibility of supplying submarines to this country," Azizov added.
The Project-677, or Lada class, diesel submarine, whose export version is known as the Amur 1650, features a new anti-sonar coating for its hull, an extended cruising range, and advanced anti-ship and anti-submarine weaponry, including the Club-S integrated cruise missile systems.
Azizov also said Vietnam and Egypt were studying the possibility of buying Russian Project 636 Kilo class diesel submarines.
"Vietnam is still studying various possibilities for the development of its submarine fleet. If they choose Project 636 submarines, offered by Russia, we will start talks on the issue," the official said, adding that the same approach applied to Egypt.
The Project 636 Kilo class submarine is thought to be one of the most silent submarine classes in the world. It has been specifically designed for anti-shipping and anti-submarine operations in relatively shallow waters.
Russia has built Kilo class submarines for India, China and Iran.
Azizov earlier said Russia could sell up to 40 fourth-generation diesel-electric submarines to foreign customers by 2015.
 
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