VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:
Vladimir Putin: I would like to congratulate you on winning the bid for West Qurna 2, one of the world's largest oilfields.
I hope that work on this project will be carried out appropriately, bringing both your company and the Russian oil and gas industry in general the necessary advantages and the dividends you expect.
In 2004 and 2005 we began discussing the issue of writing off a large portion of the Iraqi national debt to the Russian Federation. We eventually came to an agreement with the Iraqi government and wrote off an unprecedented 90%, which is also a large amount in absolute terms, over $10 billion.
Iraq is still in a predicament, but the situation was even worse at that time. Our efforts were meant as support and assistance for the new Iraqi leadership in their aspirations to restore the country's economy. From the very beginning we anticipated that the Iraqi government would welcome our oil and gas companies' entrance into the Iraqi oil market. What has happened is a positive result of this, a welcome event. And I congratulate you for this.
Vagit Alekperov: Thank you, Mr Putin. The agreement was signed in Bagdad at 2 p.m. yesterday, thus bringing our project into effect.
Your proactive approach allowed our company, which has worked on this project for 13 years, to win the bid for this contract, against tough competition. Your message worked out well, and we committed ourselves to very tough terms on this project.
The scope of the project is extraordinary. It is the most recently discovered field of such capacity being developed, with reserves of over two billion metric tons. Oil production is expected to reach 95 million metric tons annually in the next ten years and the subsequent period. The agreement is valid for 20 years. Our company and our partners, specifically Statoil, plan to invest some $30 billion in it, with $4.5 billion to be invested in the near future.
It is a truly large-scale project. We will involve Russian companies, including Volgograd Design and Gazprom, in developing the field's infrastructure. We will use Russian technology. We are selecting contractors and equipment. After our design estimates are approved, a large team of Russian experts will go to Iraq to work there.
We are very focused on security, and have consulted with our security experts on how best to provide it. Protecting our employees in Iraq is our top priority. It is one of the most important clauses of the agreement. Separate funds have been appropriated for security provisions. Our group visited Basra to tour the fields. We will not let you down; we will meet all the terms of the contract and we will meet all deadlines.
Vladimir Putin: Your partners are very reliable too. We are working closely with the Norwegians on many projects, including the Shtokman field in the Barents Sea, which is another joint project involving a Russian company that offers good prospects for resolving issues in northern Europe. We are still negotiating a number of provisions, and this project gives us another impetus for settling current problems.
Vagit Alekperov: We are involved in another major project, as I have reported to you. You promised to visit our cutting-edge oil rig in the Caspian Sea. We are planning to produce the first tons of Russian oil in Caspian waters in April. It will be our pleasure to welcome you to this rig to show you how cutting-edge technology has been applied there. The horizontal wellbore will reach five kilometres. You can count the number of such oil pumps in the world on the fingers of one hand.
Everything on the Caspian is being done by Russian companies. They have installed equipment and constructed the rig, which you saw at the Astrakhan shipyards. We are ready to work.
Vladimir Putin: Good. My congratulations.
