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Strategies & Market Trends : Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RealMuLan who wrote (16270)	11/18/2004 11:15:50 PM
From: RealMuLan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116555

LUKoil Readies to Exploit Japan and China Energy Markets By Valeria Korchagina STAFF WRITER MOSCOW - Top oil producer LUKoil said earlier this week it is preparing to ship crude directly to China and Japan by rail and ship, opening up vast new markets for the energy giant. LUKoil deputy CEO Leonid Fedun said deliveries could start as soon as the government and national rail monopoly Russian Railways, or RZD, agrees to reduce transport tariffs to make the new export routes economically viable. Fedun said LUKoil could ship up to 15 million tons (109 million barrels) per year to Asia's two biggest economies if a tariff agreement is reached, Interfax reported. During President Vladimir Putin's trip to Beijing last month, Russia agreed to boost oil exports by rail to China to 10 million tons in 2005 and 15 million tons in 2006. The move would be welcomed by energy-starved China, the world's largest oil importer after the United States. LUKoil's rival Yukos accounted for nearly all Russian oil shipments to China before a liquidity squeeze forced it to close down the route in September. Yukos agreed to supply state-owned China National Petroleum Corp., or CNPC, with 3.86 million tons of oil this year, but managed only 2.85 million tons before abandoning the route after its bank accounts were frozen as part of the government's efforts to extract $18 billion in back taxes and fines from the company. The stoppage irritated Beijing, which asked the Kremlin to find a substitute supplier. LUKoil, however, would not say whether Yukos' problems inspired the company's decision to target China. RZD, too, appears eager to find an alternative supplier to replace lost revenues. "It would be good for all parties involved," an RZD spokeswoman said Tuesday. sptimes.ru