Russia replaces ministers in charge of energy sector
MOSCOW. May 22 (Interfax) - The Energy Ministry, Natural Resources and Environment Ministry and Federal Environmental, Technological and Atomic Oversight Service (Rostekhnadzor) have been preserved in the structure of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's new government, according to a presidential decree.
The Natural Resources Ministry has retained control over the Federal Subsurface Resources Agency (Rosnedra), Federal Natural Resources Oversight Service (Rosprirodnadzor), Federal Water Resources Agency, and Federal Forestry Agency.
Rostekhnadzor will continue to answer directly to the government.
The structure of the Energy Ministry has also remained unchanged. It was not split into an oil and gas ministry and a power sector ministry as some market players expected, and did not add any new federal agencies to its portfolio.
However, the top officials in the fuel and energy sector have been replaced. Arkady Dvorkovich has been appointed deputy prime minister in charge of this sector to replace Igor Sechin. Sergei Donskoi is replacing Yury Trutnev as natural resources minister, and Alexander Novak will replace Sergei Shmatko as Energy Minister.
Donskoi's appointment stresses continuity. He was deputy minister under Trutnev, so the ministry is not expecting any serious changes. However, the new Ministry for the Development of the Far East could take over some of the Natural Resources Ministry's responsibilities in resource use.
It is still unclear whether the top officials at the agencies controlled by the Natural Resources Ministry will be replaced. So far only Rosnedra head Anatoly Ledovskikh has retired, and has been replaced by former Sechin aide Alexander Popov.
The appointment of Novak strengthens the financial and economic role of the Energy Ministry in the fuel and energy sector, which became more prominent after the appointment of former Morgan Stanley managing director and Rosneft senior vice president Pavel Fedorov as deputy minister.