Russia Drafts Law Which Would Seal Gazprom Export Monopoly
AFX News Limited 6/7/2006
URL: rigzone.com
Russian lawmakers have put forward a draft bill to formalize Gazprom's monopoly over the country's gas exports in a direct rebuff to European demands, newspapers here said Wednesday.
The law "establishes a basis for state regulation of gas exports, based on the necessity of defending the Russian Federation's economic and external political interests," the Vremya Novostei daily cited the draft as saying.
The bill would make Gazprom's de facto monopoly over the country's natural gas exports into law, making an exception only for gas extracted through production sharing agreements (PSAs) with third parties.
Parliament is expected to vote on the draft by the end of June, newspaper reports said.
Valery Yazev, of the pro-Kremlin United Russia party and one of the law's authors, was quoted by the Kommersant daily as saying: "It could become an argument on the Russian side during the G8 Summit in Saint Petersburg. We don't hide that our position is hawkish."
Some 469 million cubic meters of gas were extracted under PSAs during 2005 but none of it is currently exported, Vedomosti reported, adding that Gazprom's exports outside the former Soviet Union totaled 156.1 billion cubic meters of gas last year.
"We support the draft law of course since it confirms the real state of things in the gas sector and the existing rules of the game." Kommersant quoted Gazprom's deputy CEO Alexander Medvedev as saying.
Amid worries in Europe about growing dependency on Russian gas, the European Union has urged Russia to reduce Gazprom's monopoly over exports and allow greater access for European energy companies to Russia's gas market.
"Russia Screws the Pipelines Shut: The energy dialogue with Europe has turned into a confrontation," ran a headline in Kommersant.
The newspaper cited "informed sources" saying that the draft law could be blocked by President Vladimir Putin if Moscow gets concessions from the Europeans.
Putin earlier demanded "compensation" for allowing European companies into Russia's energy sector and Gazprom has announced plans to expand its business activities in Europe, including in the European Union's gas retail market.
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