Domestic Oil Prices Down
Domestic oil prices for August delivery were fixed 10 percent down versus July on Friday at 7,800 rubles to 8,200 rubles ($251-$263.9) per ton, traders said citing crude oversupply.
The trade started a week ago with prices initially declining to 8,000 to 8,200 rubles from 8,600 to 9,200 rubles in July. (Reuters)
Gazprom May Invest Less
Gazprom’s investment program for 2010 could be cut to $21 billion from the $25 billion earmarked for this year, deputy chief executive Alexander Ananenkov said Friday.
Ananenkov told a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that to meet a plan to install large-diameter pipes capable of carrying 1.5 million tons in 2010, the investment program would need to total 645 billion rubles ($21 billion). (Reuters)
Uralkali Signs India Deal
Uralkali said Friday that its Belarussian sales joint venture agreed to sell 675,000 tons of potash fertilizer to India at $460 per ton.
“The price is quite low, but they have a contract, and this means their utilization rates can increase,” Merrill Lynch analyst Pavel Simonenko said. He added that Chinese buyers are now likely to negotiate a price of $400 to $430 per ton. (Reuters)
LUKoil to Return to Ghana
LUKoil and U.S.-based Vanco Energy may be ready to resume operations on a deepwater block off the Ghanaian coast next month after repairs to their drilling ship, Vanco Energy vice president Jeffrey Mitchell said Thursday.
“It looks like there is about two or three more weeks of work to do,” Mitchell said, referring to repairs on the refitted drilling ship. (Bloomberg)
Gazprom Neft Repays Loan
Gazprom Neft said Friday that it had repaid a $375 million loan from state bank VEB ahead of schedule.
It received the one-year loan on Jan. 14, 2009, and used the money toward partial refinancing of its eurobonds issued in 2002, the company said in a statement. (Reuters)
Aeroflot to Sponsor CSKA
CSKA Moscow has signed a one-year sponsorship deal with Aeroflot, the Russian Premier League club said Friday. CSKA president Yevgeny Giner said the deal, worth $5 million in cash and services, could be extended into next year. (Reuters)
Chelyabinsk Output Down
Chelyabinsk Zinc Plant said first-half production of zinc and zinc-based alloys fell 33 percent.
Output declined to 51,686 tons from 76,980 tons in the year-earlier period, the company said Friday. (Bloomberg)
For the Record
- Russia lifted a ban on imports of meat from Arizona and California because of reduced concern about swine flu, the country’s agriculture watchdog said in a statement late Thursday. (Bloomberg)
- Severstal appointed chief financial officer Sergei Kuznetsov as chief executive of its operations outside the country, replacing Gregory Mason who will leave the company. (Bloomberg)
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