NewsBase FSU ENERGY DIGEST 12-Oct-01 1USD = R29.50 Published by NewsBase Limited 26 Albany Street, Edinburgh, EH1 3QH Email: news@newsbase.com Web: www.newsbase.com =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Copyright (c) 2001 NewsBase Limited. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, redistributed, or otherwise copied without the written permission of the authors. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= OIL & GAS INDUSTRY VEDOMOSTI, October 11 GAZPROM intends to extract gas from the upper horizons of the Zapolyarnoye deposit. Subsequently, the gas monopoly hopes to develop the lower horizons of the area, whose reserves have been estimated at 750 million tonnes of conventional fuel. GAZPROM wants to form a joint venture with ROYAL DUTCH/SHELL to this end. The Moscow court of arbitration has invalidated the decision of the ROSPAN INTERNATIONAL shareholders meeting to terminate the company bankruptcy procedure through an additional share issue. According to ROSPAN receiver Mikhail Rubtsov, he had already withdrawn the company application for additional share issue registration from the Federal Securities Commission. COMMERSANT, October 11 Austrian GE OIL & GAS BETEILIGUNG UND VERWALTUNG AG (GEOG) has gained control over the Hungarian BORSODCHEM company, in which Russian SIBUR has a 24.8% stake. SIBUR has expressed its interest in buying the GEOG's stake in the Hungarian business. The Russian Federal Securities Commission has registered a report on the results of the issue of ordinary LUKOIL shares worth about R414,000. A total of 16,568,939 shares, each with a face value of R0.025, has been issued. OMSKIYE NOVOSTI, October 10 The ALMAZY ROSSII (Russian Diamonds) company intends to build an oil refinery of its own and has commissioned OMSKNEFTEKHIMPROEKT to blueprint the R100 million project. To be situated in the town of Mirny, the new company oil refinery will have an annual capacity of 250,000 tonnes of oil. RUSENERGY.COM, October 10 United Financial Group analyst Steven O'Sullivan has spoken of TATNEFT's possible financial problems, which may cause the company to suspend the Nizhnekamsk Oil Refinery construction project. Problems may arise from the need to pay $300 million on Eurobonds, as a result of which company resources may be inadequate for major projects. CHERNOMORNEFTEGAZ of the Crimea intends to invite LUKOIL to extract oil in Ukraine's Olimpiiskaya offshore area in the western section of the Black Sea. CHERNOMORNEFTEGAZ is ready to confine itself to gas extraction in the area. According to Ukrainian specialists, local oil reserves are big enough to enable the Odessa Oil Refinery, which is controlled by LUKOIL, to operate at full capacity and also to supply the GALICHINA oil refining complex. RIA NOVOSTI, October 10 A draft intergovernmental memorandum on co-operation between Russia and Kazakhstan in the gas sector has been submitted to the Russian government, according to Russian energy minister Igor Yusufov. SIA, October 11 SURGUTNEFTEGAZ oil reserves are expected to grow by 3538 million tonnes in 2001, compared to last year's 32.3m tonne increment. CASPIAN NEWS AGENCY, October 11 UZTRANSGAZ of Uzbekistan has demanded that the staterun TAJIKGAZ company of Tajikistan make a prepayment for gas supplies to receive an additional 100 million cu m of gas. Kazakhstan hopes to extract 46 million tonnes of oil and gas condensate in 2002, said local economy and trade minister Zhaksybek Kulekeyev. Local oil and gas condensate output may be boosted from last year's 35m tonnes to 40m tonnes this year. MEDIA PRESS, October 11 Germany's ELSTER company has finished supplying rotor gas meters to AZERIGAS of Baku under the Azerbaijan Gas System Rehabilitation program. A $20.2 million EBRD credit was used to implement that program. EKHO, October 10 The board of directors of the CASPIAN GEOPHYCIAL joint venture founded by SOCAR and SCHLUMBERGER has approved Jeff Corhill as new JV general director instead of Fuad Aliyev. TURKMENISTAN, October 11 A gas well with a daily 500,000 cu m yield has begun operations at the Elgui deposit in the Mary region of Turkmenistan. Another well is expected to be made operative by the end of 2001, to be followed by 24 more wells over the next three years. Up to 3 billion cu m of gas is expected to be extracted from the deposit per year. UKRAYINSKI NOVYNY, October 10 On October 10, the Ukrainian government approved an agreement on additional measures to ensure Russian gas transit. The agreement will shortly be submitted to parliament for ratification, said prime minister Anatoly Kinakh. COAL INDUSTRY KEMEROVO REGIONAL ADMINISTRATION PRESS CENTER, October 10 SEVERSTAL and the Magnitorogsk Metal Complex, the new masters of the KUZBASSUGOL company, have made public their intention to invest in developing company production, raising output quality and mastering new markets. POWER ENGINEERING VEDOMOSTI, October 11 The EBRD will sign an E100 million credit contract with EES ROSSII today. The credit will be extended for a period of three and a half years at an over 9% annual interest rate and secured with an EES ROSSII contract to supply electricity to Finland. According to the newspaper, the two parties will simultaneously sign a memorandum on a $50 million syndicated credit to be organized by the EBRD for EES ROSSII to reform power engineering and renovate power projects in Russia. RUSENERGY.COM, October 10 The Russian Nuclear Power Ministry counts on an electricity supply rate hike from 1.15 cents to 1.3- 1.35 cents per KWh for nuclear power plants in 2001. NEFTEGAZOVAYA VERTIKAL, October 10 CHELYABENERGO has obtained a R50 million credit from KREDIT URAL BANK to repay its debts for gas and coal supplies. After the company repays its R15m debt to CHELYABINSKUGOL, its coal debt will be cut to R33m. UKRAYINSKI NOVYNY, October 10 Ukraine has so far failed to co-ordinate the contract terms with the American MORRISON KNUDSEN CORP. for remodelling the burial structure of the fourth plant of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station into an eco- friendly system. Ukrainian authorities have accused the American company, which can count on a $760 million contract, of monopoly control. The project provides for the renovation of the first burial structure and the building of another burial structure at the nuclear station. BELTA, October 10 The German-Danish NORDEX company has installed another wind-driven power plant in the Myadel district of Belarus. The new plant has a capacity of 600 KW. BASA PRESS, October 10 Experts of the Moldovan Audit Chamber have revealed infractions in the sale of three local electricity distribution companies to Spanish UNION FENOSA. Experts have estimated that the state lost about $4.2 million in that transaction, under which the networks estimated at $25.3m were sold for $21.2m. The Audit Chamber has also come to the conclusion that the Moldovan government had no right to sell 43 hectares (106.2 acres) of land and high-voltage lines to the Spanish company. SUMMARISED REPORTS THE ARTICLES BELOW ARE AVAILABLE IN FULL FOR 3.25 POUNDS EACH. FOR INSTANT DELIVERY CALL +44 131 478 7000 OR REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE WITH THE REFERENCE NUMBERS 111012.133 The landmark privatisation project for 2001 involving the sale of a 6.1% state-controlled stake in Lukoil on the external market may be called off. The government is to make the final decision in Nov-01. (167 words) 111012.134 The Zapolyarnoye gas deposit, with its 3.3tn cu m reserves in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District, is scheduled to be officially put to development on 24- Oct-01. (198 words) 111012.135 Kyrgyzstan extracted about 57k t of oil and 23.4m cu m of gas from Jan-01 to Sep-01, respectively 1.8% and 11.9% more year-on-year. 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