NOVO-OGARYOVO, September 11 (RIA Novosti) - The head of state-run Russian oil transporter Transneft [RTS: TRNF] agreed Tuesday to President Putin's proposal to head the state corporation for the 2014 Winter Olympics preparations in Sochi.
Putin received Transneft CEO Semyon Vainshtok at his Novo-Ogaryovo retreat outside Moscow Tuesday, where he thanked him for his work in charge of the company and offered him the new post.
"You have been heading Transneft for eight years now. Great work has been done within this period and many important projects for the country have been carried out. I congratulate and thank you for this," Putin told Vainshtok, whose contract as company head expires on Thursday.
"I want to propose that you take charge of work to establish the state corporation, and then manage it for the 2014 Winter Olympic preparations in Sochi," Putin said.
Sochi, a Russian resort city on the Black Sea, won a bid to host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in early July after a close race with South Korea's Pyeongchang and Austria's Salzburg.
The Russian government is currently completing the draft law, which will outline the establishment of an Olympic State Commission to manage the construction of sports facilities and infrastructure in Sochi.
Vainshtok, who will celebrate his 60th birthday on October 5, thanked the president for his trust and said, "I can leave Transneft with an easy conscience as the company is stable and well structured."
Transneft, the world's largest oil pipeline company, in which the Russian government holds a 75% stake, earlier said the value of its assets increased 16.7% in April-June 2007 quarter-on-quarter to 194.7 billion rubles (about $7.6 billion).
