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Tag: Lukoil

KazMunaiGaz’s unpleasant surprise for oil majors

May 1, 2013 3:55pm by Isabel Gorst
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When KazMunaiGas muscled into the Karachaganak oil and gas field in 2011, international oil majors had no choice but to dilute their shares in the hugely profitable project to make way for Kazakhstan’s state oil company. At the time it was understood that KMG’s participation would clear the way for Kazakhstan to sanction the third phase of Karachaganak’s development and allow production to surge at the field. That now appears to be have been optimistic: in a surprise move this week, KMG said the expansion plan had been put on ice. Continue reading »

Tags: , , , , , Posted in Asia, Kazakhstan |

Who’s afraid of working with Petrobras? Not Lukoil

Feb 13, 2013 8:27pm by Thalita Carrico
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For international companies, Brazil’s oil and gas industry can be challenging. The national oil company, Petrobras, has been appointed the sole operator by government decree of new fields in the country’s giant new offshore reserves, known as “pre-salt”. This means all operators have to work with Petrobras, exposing them to the risk of having the same government-controlled company as a partner. They also must source certain percentages of equipment locally, potentially making field development costly.

But that hasn’t stopped foreign companies from rushing in. Continue reading »

Tags: , , Posted in Brazil, LatAm |

TNK-BP: rolling back Russian privatisation?

Oct 24, 2012 4:29pm by Charles Clover
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State-owned Rosneft buys TNK-BP Photo Bloomberg

Russia’s government did its best on Wednesday to affirm its continued commitment to privatisation plans, despite carrying out what is in effect the largest nationalisation in post-Soviet history this week.

Andrei Belousov, economy minister, insisted that the purchase of 100 per cent of oil company TNK-BP by state company Rosneft did not mean the government was rethinking its commitment to rolling back state ownership of the economy. Continue reading »

Tags: , , , , , Posted in Global |

Russian gas: Gazprom v upstarts

Sep 11, 2012 5:40pm by Isabel Gorst
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Monopolies would not be monopolies if they accommodated competition. So it’s not surprising that Gazprom appears to have its back to the wall. In Europe the Russian company is facing an anti-trust investigation for suspected abuse of its dominant market position. In Russia a simmering battle between Gazprom and the increasingly assertive independent gas producers has bubbled over into the open. As often happens in Russian gas disputes, Gazprom appears to be taking rather heavy handed action. Continue reading »

Tags: , , , , Posted in Europe, Russia |

TNK-BP: Troika takes on RenCap

Jul 17, 2012 2:33pm by Stefan Wagstyl
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An unusually forthright spat among stockbrokers over TNK-BP – one that that mirrors, in its modest way, the titanic battle being fought over the Russian oil group by its shareholders.

Renaissance Capital fired the opening salvo on Monday with a 63-page report on the Russian oil industry which raised serious doubts about the future of TNK-BP. Continue reading »

Tags: , , , , Posted in Europe, Russia |

Dancing with (polar) bears: a rush to link hands with Rosneft

Apr 25, 2012 1:44pm by Stefan Wagstyl
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Another big foreign oil deal in Russia. State-controlled Rosneft and Italy’s Eni announced on Wednesday a pact for offshore exploration in the Russian Arctic and the Black Sea.

Prime minister Vladimir Putin blessed the deal – Rosneft’s second big partnership this month, following last week’s accord with ExxonMobil. At the same time, Moscow has relaxed the tax regime governing the huge projects critical to its future as an energy producer. After many false starts, could it be that Russia is finally serious about working with foreign investors? Continue reading »

Tags: , , , , , , Posted in Europe, Russia |

Lukoil: looking over its shoulder

Mar 23, 2012 6:22pm by Isabel Gorst
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Russia’s ministry of natural resources fired a shot across the bows of Lukoil on Friday, warning that the Russian oil major could lose the right to develop two huge Arctic oil fields in a partnership with Bashneft.

In the past hints like this have led to disputes in which the state damaged the interests of private oil investors – even to the extent of grabbing a share of strategic upstream assets. So although Lukoil and Bashneft’s shares have hardly reacted to the news, it’s worth watching closely to see how events play out. Continue reading »

Tags: , , Posted in Europe, Russia |

Lukoil: joining the dividend rush

Mar 14, 2012 5:43pm by Isabel Gorst
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A good day for investors seeking dividends in Russia. Hot on the heels of the state-controlled companies looking to return around 25 per cent of profits (see previous story) comes Lukoil, Russia’s second biggest oil producer.

Lukoil isn’t state-controlled, but it has promised to become a “cash cow” for shareholders by boosting dividend payments in the coming decade. So investors can look forward to years of happy milking at Lukoil – including the top management who own substantial stakes in the company. Continue reading »

Tags: , , , , Posted in Europe, Russia |

BB: time to register

Dear beyondbrics readers,

After more than three years of fully open access, we are taking the step of asking our readers to register on FT.com to read our articles. Beyondbrics will still be free but we'd like to know a bit more about you, our readers. Other FT blogs (including Alphaville) already do the same thing. Registration is active on beyondbrics from May 6.

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Stefan Wagstyl, emerging markets editor

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beyondbrics

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