Poland's Biggest Refiner to Spend $316 Mln on 2016 Dividends
Poland's biggest refiner PKN Orlen SA plans to spend 1.28 billion zloty ($315 million) on dividends for 2016, it said on Tuesday. This translates to 3 zlotys per share, the state-run company said in a statement. Shareholders who have PKN shares on July 14 will be entitled to the 2016 dividend, to be paid on Aug. 4, 2017. ($1 = 4.0661 zlotys) (Reporting by Marcin Goclowski; Writing by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)
Norway Finds Planned Gas Link to Poland Interesting
Norway finds interesting Poland's plans to build a pipeline that would allow the central and eastern Europe's biggest economy receive gas from the Norwegian shelf via Denmark and the Baltic Sea, Norway's foreign minister said on Friday. The plan to receive up to 10 billion cubic metres of gas annually from Norway is key to Poland's ambition to cut down reliance on Russia's supplies.
Rosneft to Participate in Bashneft Privatization
Russia's largest crude oil producer Rosneft will take part in the sale of the state's controlling stake in mid-size oil company Bashneft , Rosneft said on Friday. "Yes, we will bid for Bashneft," Rosneft's spokesman Mikhail Leontiyev said without providing further detail. (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Writing by Lidia Kelly; Editing by David Goodman)
Russia to Halt Oil Products Export via Foreign Baltic Ports
Russia plans to fully halt exports of oil products from other than Russian ports on the Baltic Sea by 2018, the head of oil pipeline monopoly Nikolai Tokarev told President Vladimir Putin on Monday. Russia will increase the shipments via its own ports instead, Tokarev said, according to a transcript of the meeting published on the Kremlin website. Russia has been gradually cutting oil and oil products exports via foreign ports on the Baltic Sea…
Russia's Gazprom Receives First Regulatory Approvals for TurkStream
Russia's major gas producer Gazprom has received first regulatory approvals from Turkey for the Turkish Stream pipeline project, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. "This step by the Turkish side... allows the project to move into implementation phase," Gazprom's CEO Alexei Miller was quoted in the statement as saying. (Reporting by Lidia Kelly)
Gazprom Says Q2 Net Profit Down 17%
Second-quarter net income of Russian gas giant Gazprom declined by 17 percent year-on-year to 244.9 billion roubles ($3.8 billion), the company said on Monday, as spendings grew. April-June sales increased by 5 percent to 1.33 trillion roubles. The company also said that average gas price for Europe and other countries fell by 18 percent to 12,798 roubles ($197.5)per 1,000 cubic metres in the first half of 2016.
Russia's Government Sees Rosneft Stake Sale a Priority
Russian government's priority it to sell a stake in the country's largest oil producer Rosneft , First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said on Wednesday. After that sale happens, the government will return to selling a stake in Bashneft. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has postponed the privatisation of mid-sized oil producer Bashneft on Tuesday (Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya, writing by Denis Pinchuk; Editing by Lidia Kelly)
Yamal LNG Project Received €780 Mln in Chinese Loans in July
The Novatek-led Yamal LNG project in Russia received financing in July worth about 780 million euros from China Development Bank and Export-Import Bank of China, according to Yamal's accounting report published on Tuesday. The 15-year loan deals, of 9.3 billion euros and 9.8 billion yuan ($1.48 billion), were signed by the two Chinese financial institutions in late April. The latest disbursement follows the first chunk of 450 million euros Yamal received in late July.
Gazprom Export opens gas storage facility in Czech Republic
Gazprom Export, a division of Russia's top natural gas producer Gazprom, said that its underground gas storage facility in the Czech Republic started operating on Friday. The storage facility, to be operated by Moravia Gas Storage, a joint venture company of the Czech MND Group and Gazprom Export, has active capacity of 456 million cubic metres and withdrawal capacity of 7.6 million cubic metres per day, Gazprom Export said in a statement.
Resumption and pricing of Russian Gas Supplies depend on Ukraine
A resumption of Russia's gas supplies to Ukraine and pricing for the deliveries will depend on proposals put forward by the Ukrainian side, Russian news agency cited Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak as saying on Sunday. On June 7, Russia's Gazprom said it had received a request from Ukraine's Naftogaz for gas supplies in the second half of the year. (Reporting by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
Russia Can Export 254-255 Mln Tonnes of Oil in 2016
Russia's oil exports this year could reach 254-255 million tonnes if output comes in at 540 million tonnes, Deputy Energy Minister Alexei Teksler said on Tuesday. Teksler said, however, output may be higher than 540 million tonnes, but might fall next year to 537 million tonnes. He also said the privatisation of crude producer Bashneft should happen by the end of the year, according to the schedule.
Rosneft Starts Drilling First International Offshore Well
Russian oil producer Rosneft's Vietnamese subsidiary has started drilling an exploration well off the south coast of Vietnam, it said on Wednesday. It is Rosneft's first individual international offshore drilling project as an operator, Russia's largest oil producer said in a statement. After the completion of the PLDD-1X well, at Block 06.1, Rosneft will drill another exploration well in Block 05.3/11, also in the Nam Con Son Basin, in the Vietnamese waters, it said.
Moody's Warning Highlights Pressure on Russia
Russia needs to adapt its budget to lower oil prices, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Saturday after credit rating agency Moody's Investors Service warned Moscow it might downgrade the country's sovereign debt rating further into junk territory. The agency said on Friday that it placed Russia's Ba1 debt rating on review for downgrade, pending a two-month review of the government's policies.
Another blast at Severstal's mine in Arctic
Russia's Emergency Ministry said on Tuesday that another explosion had occurred in a coal mine inside the Arctic Circle where 26 died last week, but this time no one was hurt, Russian news agencies reported. "There were no people in the mine," TASS news agency cited the ministry as saying. It was the sixth explosion at the Severnaya mine, operated by Vorkutaugol, a subsidiary of Severstal, since the Feb. 25 blast that killed the trapped miners.
Nord Stream II to be Implemented on Schedule - Gazprom CEO
The Nord Stream II pipeline project will be implemented on schedule by the end of 2019 and laying of pipes for the project will start next year, Alexei Miller, chief executive of Russia's Gazprom, said on Saturday. "We are now preparing to hold tenders for the purchase of pipes, in September there will be a tender for the laying of pipes and in early 2017 the (pipeline laying) work will begin," Miller told journalists.
Russia: OPEC to Meet with non-OPEC States
Russia's envoy to the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said on Wednesday he thought it unlikely that the OPEC would meet with non-OPEC nations to discuss oil production any time soon, Interfax news agency reported. The agency cited Vladimir Voronkov, the envoy, as saying that there was "understanding" in Moscow that it is difficult to reach a consensus about such a meeting within the OPEC. Reporting by Lidia Kelly and Maria Kiselyova
Russia's Rosneft Eyes Oil Supplies to South Africa
Russia's top oil producer Rosneft is "actively interested" in crude oil and oil product supplies to South Africa, TASS news agency cited Russian Natural Resources Ministry as saying on Thursday. The Kremlin-controlled Rosneft has been trying to expand its global reach despite the chill with the West. In October, jointly with ExxonMobil, the company won potentially lucrative exploration rights for fossil fuels off Mozambique's Indian Ocean coast.
Gazprom Jan-Aug Gas Output Falls
Russia's top gas producer Gazprom said its total gas output fell by 10.9 percent in January-August to 258.8 billion cubic metres, Economy Ministry said on Tuesday. It also said that other domestic producers have increased output at the same time. Reporting by Lidia Kelly
Schlumberger Does Not Intend to Extend Agreement to Buy Stake in Eurasia
U.S. company Schlumberger said on Thursday it does not intend to extend the pending agreement to acquire a minority equity interest in Eurasia Drilling once the current extension expires on Sept. 30. "The Company will instead focus on other mergers and acquisitions opportunities," it said in a statement. (Reporting by Katya Golubkova; Editing by Lidia Kelly)
China backs Putin's idea of developing Russia's Far East
Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang said on Saturday that Russia's push to revamp its run-down Far East region coincided with Beijing's strategy, backing President Vladimir Putin's drive for new sources of growth. At the Eastern Economic Forum in the Pacific Port of Vladivostok on Friday, Putin promised favourable business conditions and state support to Asian and domestic investors willing to come to Russia's most remote land.
