Government and company officials said Wednesday that Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin was about to sign a resolution setting out detailed rules for oil trade in Russia, including mandatory domestic sales quotas for exporters, but no such document had yet come out.
President Boris Yeltsin initially decreed the removal of oil export quotas from July, but later postponed the deadline until Jan.1, 1995. Technically, the decree is now law, but it does not offer traders a new framework to replace the outgoing export quotas and licenses.
"The trouble in this country is that no law has direct effect," said Sergey Slesaryov, a spokesman for the Fuel and Energy Ministry. "There have to be further documents for a law to work."
Slesaryov said, however, that the new regulations, which would impose mandatory domestic sales of 65 percent of total output, were only a few formalities away from coming into effect.
The formalities include securing consent of "all relevant ministries and approval of the heads of those ministries," according to an official with the Economics Ministry's legal department, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Economics Minister Yevgeny Yasin, who favors liberalization of oil trade, said last week that he would not approve the draft resolution on Chernomyrdin's desk because it would restrict exports.
But the official at the ministry's legal department said it is possible that Yasin's opinion could be eventually ignored.
"Legally, such a document cannot be issued without Yasin's approval, but in practice I have seen many cases when this rule was broken," the official said.
However, it was still unclear what delayed the release of the resolution in question. Spokesmen for the Fuel and Energy Ministry, the Economics Ministry, and the oil company Noyabrskneftegas interviewed Wednesday were all confident that the new regulations, when issued, would introduce the 65-percent rule.
The International Monetary Fund and World Bank, which are scheduled to continue talks over billions of dollars in loans to the Russian government this month, are strictly opposed to restrictions on oil exports. Last month the World Bank threatened to withhold a $600-million credit to the oil industry if the domestic quotas led to limited exports.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.