MOSCOW — With a view to further intensifying Russia’s participation in the Asia-Europe Meeting, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has signed a resolution determining that Russia’s annual voluntary contribution to forum’s specialised fund will be 150,000 U.S. dollars from 2013.
The contribution will be paid out of the budget.
The ninth Asia-Europe Meeting focusing on global economic and financial development in post-crisis period, regional and international problems is taking place in the Laotian capital of Vientiane. Medvedev is leading the Russian delegation to the meeting.
VIENTIANE — The Ministry of Economic Development will present its position on the purchase of TNK-BP by Rosneft shortly, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said on Monday, November 5.
“The documents are in the Ministry of Economic Development now. The ministry will present its position shortly in accordance with the instructions with the chairman of the government that were issued pursuant to the president’s order,” he said.
VIENTIANE — The Russian Finance and Energy Ministries may work out a unified formula for calculating the gas production tax in December, Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Shatalov said on Monday, November 5.
Ministries advocate two different approached. The Ministry of Economic Development proposes different formulas for natural gas and gas condensate. The Finance Ministry insists on calculating the tax for the whole project.
MOSCOW — Transneft has filled the ESPO-2 pipeline with oil and is starting to test it, the company’s spokesperson Igor Demin said on Monday, November 5.
“We have finished filling the Skovorodino-Kozmino section of the pipeline with process oil and are beginning to test the section. The testing will last throughout November and a part of December,” he said.
Transneft currently transports oil by the ESPO-1 pipeline but has to use the railway to haul it from Skovorodino the port of Kozmino. The ESPO-2 pipeline wil allow the company to transport 30 million tonnes of oil a year at the initial stage and then increase this amount to 50 million tones.
MOSCOW — Gazprom has reported financial results under IFRS for the first six months of this year, ended June 30.
Sales (net of VAT, excise tax and customs duties) decreased by 116,705 million roubles, or 5 percent, to 2,230,366 million roubles in the six months ended June 30, 2012, compared to the six months ended June 30, 2011.
Net sales of gas decreased by 228,150 million roubles, or 15 percent, to 1,244,126 million roubles in the six months ended June 30, 2012 compared to the six months ended June 30, 2011.
For the six months ended June 30, 2012 net sales of gas to Europe and other countries decreased by 10,896 million roubles, or 1 percent, to 731,316 million roubles compared to the six months ended June 30, 2011. This change was primarily due to decrease in volumes of gas sold by 10 percent or 8.7 bcm, which was partially compensated by the increase of average realised prices in RUB terms (including customs duties) by 13 percent.
MOSCOW — Military and technical cooperation between Russia and Syria has always aimed to strengthen the defence capability of that country, not support for its President Bashar al-Assad, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with the Al-Ahram newspaper published on the Foreign Ministry’s official website on Monday, November 5.
CAIRO — Russia and the League of Arab States (LAS) have agreed to establish a cooperation forum and hold its first session in Moscow before the yearend, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov announced here on Sunday at the close of his meeting with the LAS Secretary-General and the UN/LAS special envoy on Syria.
CAIRO — Russia never conducted secret negotiations with the United States on the fate of Bashar Al-Assad, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated on Monday answering a reporters’ question.
PARIS — Peugeot Citroen and Russian Railways (RZD) signed an agreement on the sale of shares representing 75 percent of the capital and voting rights of GEFCO S.A., the parent company of the GEFCO group, to RZD.
This agreement will enable GEFCO to step up its expansion by combining its strengths with those of Russian Railways and diversify its business base, thereby contributing to revenue growth. The new entity will be a global leader in diversified industrial supply chain logistics.
Under the agreement, PSA Peugeot Citroen will sell a 75 percent interest in GEFCO to RZD for 800 million euros, after the payment by GEFCO to PSA Peugeot Citroen of special dividend of 100 million euros.