MOSCOW, Dec 11 (Reuters) – Gazprom’s talks with
China on supplying gas from eastern Siberia have moved “to a
practical level”, the Russian gas export monopoly said,
indicating it was seeking to revive the long-stalled
negotiations.

The company’s statement on Tuesday, citing comments by Chief
Executive Alexei Miller, showed it may expect some progress in
the talks, which have involved little more than formalities
since the failure of a final deal at the last minute in June
2011.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Energy Ministry may make an exception to Gazprom’s (GAZP.MM: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) monopoly on gas exports for an independent liquefied natural gas project that could help break Russia’s dependence on Europe’s declining market for its pipeline gas.

“In theory there are possible options specifically for LNG,” Energy Minister Alexander Novak told reporters. “What form to use and what system of agreements with Gazprom Export and others – it would need to be developed specifically.”

MOSCOW, Nov 20 (Reuters) – The Energy Ministry may make an
exception to Gazprom’s monopoly on gas exports for an
independent liquefied natural gas project that could help break
Russia’s dependence on Europe’s declining market for its
pipeline gas.

“In theory there are possible options specifically for LNG,”
Energy Minister Alexander Novak told reporters. “What form to
use and what system of agreements with Gazprom Export and others
- it would need to be developed specifically.”

YAROSLAVL, Russia (Reuters) – A tax policy misfire is discouraging Russian oil companies from upgrading their refineries, and ensuring instead that they continue to export cheap fuel oil as feedstock for struggling European plants, the head of a major export refinery said.

Last year the government tried to slash an effective subsidy on exports of fuel oil, a cheap residue of primary refining which can be converted to gasoline and diesel at sophisticated refineries, by partly closing a gap between crude and fuel oil export duties.

MOSCOW, Nov 12 (Reuters) – Rosneft has appointed a
team of Morgan Stanley veterans led by former co-president Walid
Chammah as advisers to Rosneft President Igor Sechin, the
Russian national oil company said on Monday.

Two top executives from Morgan Stanley’s Moscow office, Rair
Simonyan and Elena Titova, have also been hired to advise
Sechin, who has launched a series of international exploration
deals and a $55 billion takeover of BP’s Russian joint
venture, TNK-BP.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Soviet-born billionaires who share ownership of Anglo-Russian oil firm TNK-BP (TNBP.MM: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) with partner BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) declared an end to a boardroom stalemate on Thursday, a step that could smooth the way to selling the business.

AAR said the 50-50 owners had agreed that although the board was still short of a third independent director, following a resignation, it should be allowed to agree such matters that require a simple majority as well as those that need unanimity.

MOSCOW/WARSAW, Nov 6 (Reuters) – Russia’s Gazprom
on Tuesday gave way in the last of its pricing disputes with big
European customers, settling with Poland’s gas monopoly PGNiG
, although it still faces a European Union probe into
its supply contracts.

PGNiG said that its core earnings would rise by 2.5-3
billion zlotys ($776-$931 million) thanks to the deal, prompting
a surge of its share prices.
Poland uses around 15 billion cubic metres (bcm), or almost 3
percent of EU gas demand a year, most of that from Russia.

SOCHI, Russia, Nov 4 (Reuters) – The workers arrived at Sergei Khlystov’s gate on a Friday evening to bulldoze his home and clear a path for sewage pipes to the Olympic village being built in the Russian city of Sochi.

Khlystov and his 33-year-old son-in-law, Maxim Samokhval, at first tried to block the bulldozers but then stood aside and watched as the two-storey house was destroyed.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s anti-monopoly regulator warned state-controlled oil producer Rosneft (ROSN.MM: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) on Tuesday that the $55 billion deal to buy rival producer TNK-BP (TNBP.MM: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) would probably be its last big acquisition.

The deal, agreed on Monday with sellers BP Plc (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and its partners in Russia, the world’s top producer, would create a combined group delivering over a third of the country’s daily 10.4 million barrels of crude output, and could prove the high-water mark for Rosneft’s rapid growth at home.

MOSCOW, Oct 19 (Reuters) – Russia’s wheat crop is down more
than a quarter from last year as the harvest nears completion,
with the country’s main grain stocks far below 2011 levels but
inventories near big population centres less depleted,
government data showed on Friday.

After traders reported Ukraine would ban grain exports from
Nov. 15 to combat a shortfall resulting from drought across
Black Sea growing regions, eyes are on Russia to see whether it
can cover domestic needs and let exports flow.