Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) and Minister of Industry and Energy Viktor Khristenko at a meeting of the Presidium of the State Council at Zhukovskoye
Photo: Dmitry Azarov
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Government Discovers YUKOS's Oil
// Agenda
At his traditional Monday meeting with members of the government, President Vladimir Putin discussed details of the construction of the Taishet–Nakhodka oil pipeline with Minister of Industry and Energy Viktor Khristenko and pension payments with Minister of Social Development and Health Mikhail Zurabov. Khristenko told the president how to further dispose of YUKOS's assets, while Zurabov tried to convince him there was not enough money to increase pensions.
Viktor Khristenko told Vladimir Putin that completion of the first phase of construction of the oil pipeline was expected in 2008. The design work will be finished in July of this year. In February of this year, Minister of Natural Resources Yury Trutnev reported to President Putin [see Kommersant of February 2] that there was not enough oil to fill the Taishet–Nakhodka oil pipeline. According to Trutnev, only 37 million metric tons of oil would be produced from the nearby fields to fill the pipeline by 2011. This is out of a planned maximum throughput capacity of nearly 80 million metric tons. Yesterday, Khristenko told Putin where he had discovered oil. “Simultaneously with the design work, we are working with oil companies to connect them to the infrastructure of the East Siberian fields.”
The minister said he was planning to connect Surgutneftegaz and YUKOS to the oil pipeline. Interestingly enough, in Khristenko's opinion, even after the sale of Yuganskneftegaz in December 2004 against YUKOS's debts, YUKOS still had assets that could produce oil for the new pipeline. YUKOS still owned fields in Eastern Siberia that were being developed by its subsidiary Tomskneftegaz VNK. However, the sale of Yuganskneftegaz did not cover the government's claims against YUKOS. As Chief Bailiff Nikoai Venichenko reported [see Kommersant of May 30], YUKOS still had more than 59 billion rubles in outstanding debt. In addition, claims for another 400 billion rubles are being considered in the courts. Thus, Khristenko had sufficient arguments for directing YUKOS's oil to the new pipeline.
Khristenko informed Putin that the first phase of the oil pipeline was designed for loading with West Siberian oil. In his words, “the first phase includes construction of a pipeline system in the Taishet–Ust-Kuta–Kazachenskoe–Tynda–Skovorodino section. Its capacity is 30 million metric tons.” Provision has also been made for the simultaneous construction of an oil terminal in Perevoznaya Bay; and an oil loading rack is being built near Skovorodino, so that the first oil coming through the pipeline can be loaded into railway tank cars and transported to the oil terminal.
Putin did not expand on the topic of YUKOS during the meeting. After listening to Khristenko's report, the president only asked the minister to synchronize his plans with the efforts and plans of OAO Russian Railways, which was also planning certain actions to increase transshipment of oil and petroleum products.
Zurabov, in turn, reported to Putin on how his instructions to increase the wages of budget recipients, money allowances to servicemen, and pensions by 50 percent in real terms by 2008 were being fulfilled. The minister spoke most of all about pensions. He informed the president that “At the beginning of the year, the average old-age retirement pension was 2090 rubles, which I calculate will increase to 2569 rubles after indexation.” Also, according to the minister's calculations, the average old-age retirement pension will be 3920 rubles in 2008, or 80 percent more than at the beginning of 2005.
After that, Zurabov complained about the difficulty, saying that indexation would require “substantial additional expenditures, since the scale of indexation greatly exceeds the increases that were typical of the pension system in previous years, including 2004.” Zurabov also added that “Pension Fund earnings have decreased as a result of tax reform.” He then immediately asked for money. “We would like to see an increase in social pensions to the subsistence level, and even more significant increases for other pensioners placed in three-year budget proposals.” Andrey Klepach, the director of the macroeconomic department of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, corroborated Zurabov's arguments. He confirmed that there was no provision for an across-the-board 50-percent increase in real terms in the wages of budget recipients, money allowances for servicemen, and pensions in the three-year budget being worked out by the Finance Ministry. According to Klepach's calculations, pensions would increase only 40 percent by 2008.
Petr Netreba
All the Article in Russian as of May 31, 2005
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