MOSCOW, October 31 (RIA Novosti) Russia to unite energy suppliers in the face of European gas consumer cartel/Gazprom delays LNG production at Shtokman/India set to gain Russian oil and gas assets/GAZ to provide Iran technology to manufacture light trucks and minibuses/Moscow chooses new foreign policy leverage - expert
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Kommersant
Russia to unite energy suppliers in the face of European gas consumer cartel
Valery Yazev, chief parliamentary lobbyist for Russian energy giant Gazprom and chairman of the lower house's Energy, Transportation and Communications Committee, proposed an initiative yesterday to set up an international alliance of gas producing and transporting countries to rival the evolving energy alliance between France and Germany.
Whether the alliance will be able to compete with the union of Angela Merkel and Jacques Chirac depends on whether Gazprom is ready to act as a sponsor.
A parliamentarian and president of the Russian Gas Society, Yazev said that for Russia, the EU will be "a cartel of consumers" that regulates access to pipelines. To correct the global balance of forces, the deputy proposed establishing an international alliance of national non-governmental gas organizations of gas producing and transporting countries.
He said it should be a public organization based on the EurAsEC structure, and should comprise gas societies from Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Moldova.
Yazev said Russia, which "possesses a third of the world's gas resources and has the widest network of gas pipelines," should act as a key integrator of the alliance. Later, Iran should join the alliance, which will enable the latter to establish ideological control over half of the world's gas reserves.
Parliamentarian Yazev has proposed several unusual ideas recently that were adopted by the government later on.
The lobbying war between Russia, the EU and the U.S. on gas issues has given Yazev and his brainchild almost unlimited lobbying opportunities.
"A cold gas war" is being openly waged. Yesterday, the United States officially supported the confrontation between Europe and Gazprom for the first time.
Matthew J. Bryza, deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, said that Nord Stream, the North European Gas pipeline, is raising the EU's dependence on Russian gas, and that EU residents would not like their gas to be cut off, as it was in Ukraine last winter.
In light of such an attitude, Yazev's statements look like a disguised response from the Russian government and Gazprom to aggressive lobbying moves by many European and U.S. companies in Europe and the America.
However, Yazev, who is unofficially described as "a board member of the lower house" by Gazprom officials, may only be after enhancing his status after receiving extra funds to expand the Russian Gas Society to a transnational body.
And whether the international alliance will be able to determine the energy strategies of the largest countries depends on whether Gazprom will give it at least a kopeck.
Biznes
Gazprom delays LNG production at Shtokman
Russian energy giant Gazprom has decided to put off the construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant until the Shtokman deposit is launched, thereby confirming its political priorities - gas will be transported by pipeline to Europe rather than by tankers to the United States.
Gazprom deputy CEO Alexander Ananenkov said: "The LNG project at Shtokman will be carried out after 2013, when the Shtokman deposit itself is launched." Gazprom was earlier expected to commission an LNG plant at Shtokman in mid-July 2011.
There are political reasons for the decision. Pipeline transportation was made a priority last September when Russian President Vladimir Putin called Europe a priority destination for the delivery of Shtokman gas.
A little later, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said the gas monopoly's board decided "to make transportation of Shtokman gas by pipeline to the European market a priority over LNG."
The company plans to channel the bulk of its gas to the Unified Gas Supply System, from where it will be supplied to Europe through the North European gas pipeline.
Analysts say Norway's Statoil and Hydro, U.S. companies Chevron and ConocoPhillips and French Total may obtain small stakes in the project.
"Foreigners may take part in the development of the Shtokman deposit as minority shareholders," said Alaxander Razuvayev, chief analyst with the Megatrustoil brokerage.
"Gazprom has confidence in its own strength now," said analyst Konstantin Cherepanov from Ray, Man & Gor Securities. "Certainly, foreigners may be invited as contractors, but the decision that Gazprom will own 100% in the deposit is unlikely to be reviewed."
The expert said the LNG project will be delayed for political and economic reasons, as the deposit itself will only go into operation in five years.
"It's hard to predict whether Gazprom will prefer pipes to LNG," he said. "Both transportation means have their advantages and disadvantages, and the company's top managers are likely to take into account the political situation which will prevail by then," Cherepanov said.
Vedomosti
India set to gain Russian oil and gas assets
India has proposed that Russian energy giant Gazprom set up a joint venture with India's Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) to develop Russian gas fields. India is prepared to cede 51% in the venture to Gazprom in order to attract Russian companies into its refining business.
Experts doubt the plans will be implemented.
India has long been trying to expand its presence in the Russian oil and gas sector, but ONGC's only Russian asset is a 20% stake in the Far Eastern energy project Sakhalin I, which it bought from the state-controlled oil company Rosneft in 2001.
A Gazprom spokesman denied knowledge of the Indian offer, and said no negotiations with ONGC are underway.
India would also like to buy up to 50 million tons (367.5 million barrels) of oil annually in Russia, said M.S. Srinivasan, secretary of India's Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas.
As of now, it buys small batches of Russian oil in the southern port of Novorossiisk, but has no long-term contracts on large deliveries, said Valery Nesterov, an analyst with the Troika Dialog brokerage.
India is ready to swap assets for profit in Russia, offering to allow Russian companies to contribute to the expansion of oil refining facilities in India, said Mr. Srinivasan.
The Indian Oil Corporation, which can process 52 million tons (381.16 million barrels) of oil a year, plans to increase output by 30 million tons (219 million barrels), and has suggested building a new refinery with a designed capacity of 15 million tons (109 million barrels), the Indian official said.
His country has also invited Russian companies to contribute to the construction of a gas pipeline from Iran to India via Pakistan.
"India is making high bids to assure results," Nesterov said. He said the tactics could bring results.
Rosneft will study India's offer when it receives it, said Nikolai Manvelov, a spokesman of the Russian company. According to a LUKoil representative, his company has not received any offer to participate in oil refining in India.
Gazprom refused to comment on the probability of its involvement in Indian projects.
Gazeta
GAZ to provide Iran technology to manufacture light trucks and minibuses
Iranian media has reported a $250 million contract with Russia's GAZ automobile manufacturer to assemble 12,000 light trucks and Gazel minibuses for Iran.
Iran must rely on cooperation with Russia because other industrialized countries oppose the Iranian nuclear program. As a result, only Russian companies whose products are not in high demand in those countries can cooperate with Iran without fear of sanctions.
Under a new contract signed by GAZ and Iranian truck manufacturer Khodro Diesel Co., the Russian partner will provide the necessary technology and will support truck assembly. A new Gazel will be designed by the beginning of next year.
GAZ said they will be standard Gazels that comply with EURO-2 standards, but will be designed especially for the tropics - changes will be made to the fuel system and the engine to adapt the vehicle to a hot climate.
Recently, Iran has tried to actively cooperate with Russia in the automobile sector. For instance, it supplied about 5,000 Samand sedans to Russia.
Iran has also set up an assembly line to produce Samands in Belarus, which will work for the Russian market, too. KamAZ, another major Russian automobile maker, has signed a contract with Iran worth more than $400 million to produce over 1,500 heavy trucks a year.
Vyacheslav Kochetkov, press secretary of the FINAM Investment Company, believes the intention of Russian automobile companies to cooperate with Iran is a logical attempt to get access to the external market.
"It is difficult at the moment for GAZ to compete with Western companies on the Russian market," he said. "On the other hand, Iran has a non-saturated market with a high demand for vehicles. In addition, safety requirements are less strict on the Iranian automobile market."
In Kochetkov's opinion, if sanctions are imposed on companies cooperating with Iran, they will not affect GAZ's business. GAZ is not afraid of sanctions.
"The plant is engaged in machine-building, not politics. If there is a demand for our automobiles, we will sell them," said Vladimir Torin, GAZ's press secretary.
"In matters of cooperation, the Iranian leadership is oriented toward those countries that do not demand Iran completely give up its nuclear program, democratize the country, etc.," said deputy general director of the Center for Political Technologies Alexei Makarkin.
"Thanks to the contract, GAZ may successfully enter that market using its political competitive advantage. Russian cars will probably also appear on the Iranian market after Gazel minibuses," he said.
Izvestia
Moscow chooses new foreign policy leverage - expert
Nikolai Zlobin, director of the Russia and Eurasia Project at the World Security Institute, said the attack on the Georgian diaspora in Russia allegedly highlights Moscow's efforts to streamline its new foreign policy leverage in areas other than oil and gas exports.
He said Washington invented and frequently uses such leverage, and has taught Russian leaders to act cynically on the basis of "political realism" without discussing the moral or ethical aspects of an issue.
The anti-Georgian campaign proves that the Kremlin has successfully mastered the use of multiple political standards from the U.S. elite's arsenal, Zlobin told the paper.
Such multiple standards, politely referred to as multi-vector policy and Vladimir Putin's flexible foreign policy by some Kremlin officials, do Putin credit, he said.
Under his guidance, Kremlin managers are slowly realizing that a country claiming the right to be a serious international player must conduct an intricate and unscrupulous foreign policy that effectively protects its interests and rebukes other states, said Zlobin.
Tbilisi does not understand the fact that Moscow has long failed to realize that the success of this policy depends on multiple standards, Zlobin told the paper.
It may be ironic, but the White House, which supports Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, has taught the Kremlin to retaliate against all unruly partners, said Zlobin.
He said Russia has every chance of winning the current conflict with Georgia and enhancing its reputation as a country with strategic insight capable of effectively tackling international problems.
Some experts in Washington even suspect that Moscow had deliberately provoked Tbilisi so as to convince everybody of its great-power wisdom and restraint, said Zlobin. But Moscow started acting out in front of the entire world and has lost, regardless of the conflict's outcome.
Russia must either become as strong as the United States, or else act with greater subtlety in order to implement similar policies. However, that does not necessarily mean that Moscow should attack the Georgian diaspora, even if it wants to, said Zlobin.
