Russian MinFin should seek add'l revenues outside of oil industry - Sechin
MOSCOW. April 23 (Interfax) - Rosneft President Igor Sechin thinks it possible to seek additional sources of budget revenue outside of the oil industry.
"We are suggesting other sources to the Finance Ministry," he said during Investor Day in London.
"For example, I would draw attention to other goods - nickel, copper, grain. We have work to do there. Our communications companies aren't regulated at all. You can also probably pay attention to that. We'll work on it actively, and I think they'll listen to us," Sechin said.
It is important for Rosneft to receive tax incentives for tight oil reserves and reserves on the shelf, the president of the state-owned oil company said.
Asked about the idea of splitting up Gazprom and stripping it of its status as export monopoly, Sechin noted that this is "a provocative question."
"The domestic [gas] market is also attractive, and we're completely satisfied with our work on the domestic market. We'll issue all of the gas we produce to the domestic market," he said.
With regards to monetizing gas projects, shelf sections are of the utmost importance to Rosneft, so the company supports proposals to cancel Gazprom's monopoly on exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), Sechin said.
"I want to wish success and fortune to Gazprom. It's a big company, the basis of our economy, and it should give more taxes to the budget because we pay almost 3 trillion rubles, whereas Gazprom, which is incomparably bigger than us, pays 1.5 trillion rubles," Sechin said.
"I would look at this injustice. I think that from this point of view, the Finance Ministry could also look at these aspects," he said.
