Oao Gazprom News

Russia’s renewed focus on the commercial shipbuilding industry was set as a key aim by Prime Minister, Dmitry Medvedev in his recent discussions on the development of the sector through 2015. Various industry ministries have been charged with analysing industry prospects until 2030, with the findings to be submitted by January 2015. The Russian Energy Ministry was instructed to study the needs in dedicated fleet and other marine solutions for exploration, drilling and the transportation of crude oil, gas and gas condensate by 2030. This is to be undertaken in conjunction with OAO Rosneft, OAO Gazprom, LUKOIL, JSC NOVATEK and other stakeholders, taking into account the planned production volumes of hydrocarbons while developing offshore fields.

OAO Sovcomflot (SCF Group) today reported results for the nine months and third quarter (Q3) ended 30 September 2014. n.a. Commenting on the results, Sergey Frank, President and CEO of OAO Sovcomflot, said, “Sovcomflot has performed strongly in the first nine months of 2014, with revenue and profits significantly ahead of the comparable period last year. These financial results reflect an improved freight rate environment over the period, especially within the crude oil segment of the tanker market. Equally, they demonstrate the benefits of our work to develop long-term relationships with ‘blue chip’ charterers across the globe, in order to provide safe and reliable transportation for their cargoes. “During the period, we continued to focus on implementation of the Group’s strategy.

Tidewater Inc. announced the election of Richard D. Paterson to its board of directors for a term beginning November 13, 2014 and expiring in July 2015. Richard D. Paterson is a certified public accountant who retired from Price Waterhouse Coopers LLP (PwC), an international network of auditors, tax and business consultants, in 2011 after 37 years of service. At the time of his retirement, Paterson served as the global leader of PwC's Consumer, Industrial Products and Services Practices comprising the automotive…

Gazprom and Sovcomflot named the new state-of-the-art 170,000m³ liquefied natural gas carrier (LNGC) Pskov, after one of the oldest Russian cities. The ship will be chartered to Gazprom Global LNG (GGLNG) under a long-term contract. The LNGC Pskov is the second vessel in a series of high-specification, ice class Atlanticmax LNG carriers that have been specially designed in accordance with Gazprom’s requirements, and will support Gazprom’s global commercial operations in the gas markets. The first LNGC, Velikiy Novgorod, was delivered and entered service in January of this year. The naming ceremony took place at the STX shipyard, South Korea.

International Paint helps refurbish a classroom at the Admiral Makarov State Maritime Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia. The project began when Gazprom Marketing & Trading (GM&T), a wholly owned subsidiary of Russian energy firm OAO Gazprom, invited a group of suppliers to consider ways to cooperate with the Academy. A group of volunteers from International Paint in St. Petersburg teamed up with colleagues from the AkzoNobel Wood Coatings and Adhesives business to transform a classroom at the Academy and equip it with a new LCD projector, screen, computer, whiteboard, tables and chairs. Alan Walker, International Paint’s Marine Director for Europe, Middle East, Africa and Russia said: “As well as the refurbishment we will also provide training and training materials to the Academy.

According to a Bloomberg report, BP Plc discovered a gas deposit in the Caspian Sea that may double production from the largest natural gas development in Azerbaijan. BP shares rose 2.8 percent, the most in a month, in London trading after the company announcement. With the latest discovery, the field may be able to pump enough gas to supply Belgium and Luxembourg together. BP and partners including StatoilHydro ASA plan to spend $4.2b on the site's first stage, which started pumping fuel to Turkey in July, easing Europe's dependence on supplies from Russia's OAO Gazprom. The announcement is the second ``major'' discovery within a week after Petroleo Brasileiro SA said an offshore field could be Brazil's biggest ever oil find.

Russian natural gas company OAO Gazprom has set its sights on becoming one of the top 15 natural gas marketers in the U.S., www.marketwatch.com reported. The company expects to handle volumes of around 1 billion to 3 billion cubic feet a day or more once Russian exports of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, start flowing around the end of the decade. The company will consider investing in regasification facilities, but so far has no concrete plans to do so. Gazprom, the world's largest natural gas producer, supplies about a quarter of Europe's natural gas and has begun to set its sights further afield. In the U.S., that will mean pursuing a fully integrated strategy. Russia isn't exporting any LNG yet.

Sakhalin Island currently is the oil and gas growth engine for Russia, which will rely on offshore regions for new production after 2010, the Oil & Gas Journal reported. By 2020, offshore fields could account for 20% of Russia's total oil and gas output. However, Russia must implement regulations and taxes before its offshore oil and gas assets can be developed since offshore royalty issues remain largely unaddressed. The Russian Duma is working on the Mineral Extraction Law and on a new subsoil law. The Russian government's anticipated shift to holding auctions for oil and gas blocks instead of tenders now appears unlikely. International oil and gas companies operating in Russia probably will be prevented from taking more than 49% interest in offshore fields.

Venezuela awarded natural gas exploration rights for two areas in the Gulf of Venezuela to Italian energy company ENI SpA, Spanish-Argentine firm Repsol YPF, Brazil's Petrobras and Japan's Teikoku Oil Co., according to a NewsFromRussia report. ENI and Repsol combined to offer a winning bid on one area of $34.4 million, while Petrobras and Teikoku won rights to another area with a bid of $19.5 million. Rights to a third area were awarded to Venezuela-based Vinccler Oil and Gas, which offered a bid of just under $7.4 million, according to the report. The offshore natural gas project involves 29 areas spanning 30,000 square kilometers (12,000 square miles) in the Gulf of Venezuela. The area's reserves have yet to be proven, but they are estimated at some 24 billion cubic ft.