Oil companies should get equal access to each export pipeline, according to Russian Energy Agency (Rosenergo).
Photo: Dmitry Lebedev
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Oil Pipe to Be Shared by All
Russia’s authorities are studying chances to change shipment procedures for crude oil export. Oil companies should get equal access not only to the pipeline system as a whole, which is today’s case, but also to the definite pipelines, said officials of Russian Energy Agency (Rosenergo).
A taskforce has been created to elaborate a new system for providing access to export pipes of Transneft, Vadim Rybin from Russian Energy Agency said yesterday. Members of the team are representatives of Energy and Industry Ministry, Russian Energy Agency, Federal Antimonopoly Service and Transneft, the official specified.
“It will be absolutely new system,” Rybin explained. “We want to share export directions amid companies in view of the equal access, even if each company gets just a bucket for a direction.” The purpose to attain is to avoid derogating the rights of small firms and ensure “really equal access to a pipe.”
Representatives of big oil companies and Transneft refused to comment on future changes. Of interest is that this initiative of top-rank bureaucrats has raised concerns even in the small firms, which are expected to benefit from new procedures. It is necessary to define the new system as clear as possible, otherwise Transneft may collapse, said Elena Korzun, president of ASSONEFT Association of Small Oil Companies.
The analysts are equally apprehensive. They say that sharing export directions amid more than 150 companies is unreal even for technical reasons.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Dec. 08, 2006
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