Moscow press review for December 6, 2011
MOSCOW. Dec 6 (Interfax) - The following is a digest of Moscow newspapers published on December 6. Interfax does not accept liability for information in these stories.
VEDOMOSTI
The decision to postpone the commissioning of the Baltic Pipeline System-2 will not influence Russian oil exports, but will affect Transneft's tariff revenue and the reputation of Rosneft , the Russian Energy Ministry has said. Ministry and Transneft officials, however, refused to disclose the amount of revenue that will not be received. "Poles and Belarusians will earn the money Transneft could have earned" because the oil the Baltic Pipeline System-2 was supposed to ship will now be sent through these countries, a source close to the monopoly said, declining to provide further details. ("Reputation slump")
Germany's Wintershall head Rainer Seele has disclosed the main recipe of his company's success - it is the establishment of joint ventures with the "right" partners, for example Russian gas giant Gazprom . "In any case, the European market needs more gas, and gas pipelines are initially designed to response to a demand increase in the future. IEA and CERA have estimated that by 2020-2025, the EU's additional import needs will stand at around 100 billion cubic meters of gas. I agree that lowering transit risks is really important. We still remember what happened between Russia and Ukraine two years ago. But South Stream is not a political decision. This decision was made by a company that seeks to enhance the security of its own deliveries because a direct connection with the consumer offers the highest level of security," he said. ("We will never go to an arbitration court against Gazprom", Rainer Seele, Wintershall CEO")
The Guinean government could receive a stake in Crew Gold, according to Nord Gold's report dedicate to a spinoff of Severstal's gold mining business into an independent company. In September, the country drew up a new code, which requires the government to control at least 15% of gold mining enterprises' shares. The country should receive such a stake free of charge. The authorities have a right to acquire 20% for cash, the report says. Crew Gold is one of Nord Gold's key assets. It accounts for around 30% of gold mining operations, VTB Capital analyst Nikolai Sosnovsky said. Nord Gold spent the whole of the previous year collecting this company's shares, including in a tough competition with Canada's Endeavour Foundation. ("Guinea asking for gold")
KOMMERSANT:
The Kommersant newspaper has learnt that, like Bashneft and Tatneft (RTS: TATN), the Alliance oil company could receive compensation for possible losses following the introduction of the 60-66 tax regime. The company plans to ask the government to grant it privileges worth 4.5 billion rubles, which it will lose in 2012 due to the unification of export duties on light and dark petroleum products. (P. 11, "Alliance looking for resources in federal budget")
The Kommersant newspaper has learnt that Geoprospekt, a potential buyer of a 51% stake in the Dark Oil project in Angola, notified Alrosa a few days ago that it was not going to acquire this asset. Furthermore, the company claims that businessman Arkady Gaidamak, who offered to acquire the asset from Alrosa for $15 billion on the company's behalf in August, had no appropriate legal powers. Geoprospekt itself is registered at the same address as the Era charity fund, which was founded by Buryatia's Senator Vitaly Malkin, a former business partner of Gaidamak. (P. 9, "Alrosa left with oil")
KIT Finance bank , whose recovery cost the state 135 billion rubles, has paid off debts to its largest creditor - Deposit Insurance Agency - ahead of time. The bank repaid the remaining tranche of 4.4 billion rubles to the agency and announced the accomplishment of the recovery plan ahead of schedule. KIT Finance, however, chose to keep silent about loans totaling ten billion rubles borrowed from the Central Bank. (P. 9, "All recovery means are good")
The ILFC leasing corporation, which sought to collect nearly $3.5 million of back airline fees from Avianova through court, has recalled its lawsuit. The sides' representatives said that all of the complaints had been sorted out. Avianova said that agreements had been achieved with all leasing companies and airplanes had been returned to them. The airline promised to sort out other creditors' claims in order to liquidate the company as soon as possible. So far, only 81% of debts to passengers have been paid off. (P. 11, "Avianova paying off debts, returning airplanes")