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Putin signs law on natural gas export liberalization

The right to export LNG may be provided, besides Gazprom, to Rosneft and Yamal LNG project that is implemented with the participation of Novatek

© ITAR-TASS-Georgy Shpikalov

MOSCOW, December 02. /ITAR-TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law on the liberalization of liquefied natural gas (LNG) that was adopted by the State Duma lower house of parliament on November 22 and approved by the Federation Council upper house on November 27.

The corresponding decree of Russia's head of state, signed on November 30, is published on Monday on the official portal of legal information. According to the website, the law comes into force on December 1, 2013.

The document says that the right to export LNG, in addition to Gazprom and its subsidiaries, is also given to the companies the subsoil use licences of which as of January 1, 2013, provide for the construction of an LNG plant or sending the produced natural gas to an LNG plant. The right to export LNG will also be provided to the companies that are subsoil users within the boundaries of inland sea waters, a territorial sea, a continental shelf, including the Black and Azov Seas, and to their subsidiaries. The state stake in such companies should exceed 50%.

Thus, the right to export LNG may be provided, besides Gazprom, to Rosneft and Yamal LNG project that is implemented with the participation of Novatek.

Exporters will provide to the Russian Energy Ministry information about the gas export in accordance with the procedure established by the government. It will make it possible to coordinate LNG exports in order to exclude competition between Russian exporters in foreign markets. In addition, the Ministry of Energy is getting the powers of the Ministry of Industry and Trade to license hydrocarbons exports. The Ministry of Energy intends to exercise these powers within the limits of its central staff size, as well as projected budget allocations to the ministry for its activities.

The Russian government hopes that the LNG export liberalization would help increase Russia’s share on the world natural gas market and maintain stable gas and mineral resource prices in general.

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