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
“When we take measures in favour of consumers, we cannot forget, as I said, the problems of electricity suppliers. These are primarily payment discipline and offenses in power accounting – these should be excluded. The new rules include significantly higher consumer responsibility for unaccounted consumption or consumption without a prior contract.”
“We need to take effective steps to upgrade competition at the retail electricity market. Energy companies require stable, predictable conditions, steady and predictable demand and guarantees for the return of investments, which are quite considerable.”
“Currently we are creating all necessary conditions for the work of our companies, for developing new oil and gas provinces, for improving the sector's efficiency. These are financial incentives and the consistent development of transport infrastructure, including the pipeline network, which will doubtless create new conditions and new prospects for the sector.”
“Based on a system-wide approach, we began to create incentives for investment projects that will ensure the long-term growth of oil and gas production. Our goal is to create a flexible toolkit, including fiscal tools, to make all of the hydrocarbon production projects more attractive for investment. In this way, we will be able to strategically enhance Russian energy security and play a bigger role on the global energy markets.”
“A significant reserve means more field production and the sparing use of minerals, as well as the more active use and involvement of hard-to-recover oil reserves. As you well know, such projects need both serious investment and state-of-the-art technologies. And we need to create conditions that attract investment, so that beginning work on new sites and the exploration of technologically difficult fields are profitable and worthwhile endeavours for companies that allow them to recoup investment costs and earn economically justified profits.”
“Our long-term goal is to ensure that Russia is a leader on the global energy markets, to guarantee the growing domestic economic demand for hydrocarbons and to consolidate our positions on the world markets.”
“Today we will discuss amendments to the law that will simplify access of this associated gas to gas pipeline systems. We have an extremely important objective: it is clearly unacceptable to undermine the options and economic opportunities of major gas producers, but it is necessary to use the associated gas, too.”
“I think it makes sense to introduce one additional requirement on the energy companies in order for them to obtain certificates for their facilities regarding their readiness for coping with the autumn and winter peaks. This new requirement should be to have long-term contracts for the delivery of alternative types of fuel so that any problems that arise can be solved quickly and without any fuss.”
“First, we need to increase the industry’s capabilities, enhance its infrastructure, resolve the bottleneck problems in the gas distribution system and build new gas storage facilities. This will ensure that we have room for maneuver and can meet the demand both on the domestic and foreign markets. Secondly, an intense gasification of Russian regions is a priority.”
“We need to take a closer look at the opportunities offered by the LNG market. So far there is only one big project operating on Sakhalin-2. New liquefaction plants are due to appear in the coming years as a result of the exploration of the Yamal and Shtokman deposits. Russian liquefied natural gas should occupy a large niche in the global energy markets.”
“Our task is to meet the Russian consumers’ growing demand for gas, which this includes utility services, industry, agriculture and household consumers, as well as to consolidate and expand our presence on the global markets. It is also clear that the future of the gas sector lies in its technological modernisation, the reduction of costs and enhancing the production and cost effectiveness.”
“Russia has always been a reliable partner on the global energy markets. We highly value this reputation and are open for mutual cooperation with all our foreign partners, including investment projects and joint participation in the development of production and infrastructural assets.”
“In fact, Yamal will become a new oil and gas region in Russia comprising production centres, transportation, a sea port, and gas processing and liquefaction enterprises. This is a large industrial project, which is unique in terms of its complexity and the projected returns. In the long term, it will ensure an increase in gas production to 140 billion cubic metres per year.”
“I would firstly like to point out the need to be very careful about exploring the stocks of both existing and newly discovered fields. I am talking about traditional mining areas such as Kuzbass, Eastern Donbass, Vorkuta, and prospective areas in Tuva and Yakutia. Second, we need to step up the implementation of the latest coal production, processing and enrichment techniques, which significantly increase the added value. <…>Third, we will need skilled employees and scientific research if we want to bring the coal industry in line with the highest international standards. <…>Fourth, we need to remove all infrastructure limitations that stand in the way of the further development of the industry.”
“In 2011, Russia produced a total of 336 million metric tons of coal. The results of the Russian coal industry were quite good last year. Profits increased by more than 50%, reaching 122 billion roubles. A solid financial foundation allows us to invest in the development and modernisation of new fields, and the re-equipment of the currently operating facilities. This all pays off in the form of a modern and competitive industry.”
“Now for the future prospects. Experts predict that the demand for coal will grow in the coming decades, both in Russia and in the global market, which is particularly important. Our coal industry, related industries and transport infrastructure must be ready to respond to this demand. We must be able both to maintain and to significantly extend our presence in the market, including the highly promising Asian and Pacific markets.”
“Our tasks are modest: we want 25% of our total energy to come from nuclear power, but even that is a challenge. It means that in the coming years we must build as many nuclear reactors as were built during the whole history of the nuclear industry in the Soviet Union. That will be sufficient and necessary to ensure a balanced structure for the Russian power industry.”
“There should be strict requirements involved in the management of power companies with public shareholdings. It is no secret that the risk of corruption is potentially very high in this sphere, as is the likelihood of a clash of interests. <…> It seems fair that the heads of these entities, their family members and close relatives be required to inform the Ministry of Energy about their income and property status. These heads should be dismissed if some shady connections are uncovered.”
“As for the power-generating industry, one can safely say that the country has overcome all crises. <…> We need to create a powerful energy foundation for our overall national development and industrial growth, and to develop new territories and the vast expanses of our country, to facilitate a reliable base of power-generation for the operation of the housing/municipal utilities infrastructure and the social sphere. Moreover, we should not forget that the modernisation of the power industry’s infrastructure creates a substantial demand for science, engineering centres, as well as such affiliated sectors as engineering and the construction industry.”
“Our aim is to create an objective and economically justified mechanism for power pricing. The consumer should pay a price that is fair, not one that is simply pulled out of a hat. No one is saying that a system should be devised that will ruin the electrical energy industry or the power sector in general. No, of course not. But there is no justification for having exorbitant prices either. Otherwise we are creating insurmountable obstacles for our national economic development.”
“The Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station has seen its fifth hydropower generation unit come into operation. Importantly, this new unit was built after the accident to more advanced specifications, including higher safety standards and increased reliability. The plan is to replace all the plant’s 10 turbines over the next three years. Some of the new units have already been delivered to the plant, and are waiting to be installed. The overhauled plant will come back on stream by the end of 2014.”
“Gas has reached Primorye and will be used to develop the region, directly serving the interests of the Russians who live here. <…> Next year we will launch one more large energy project: we will lay a gas pipeline from Yakutia in order to increase the energy security of the region and to enhance its stability.”
“The amount of gas that will be supplied is comparable to the energy produced by 11 nuclear power stations. This means that 55 billion cubic metres will be delivered annually for 50 years, and this is a significant contribution both to the European and global energy sector, while at the same time adhering to the most up-to-date environmental standards.”
“I am very pleased that the company Rosneft has joined today to sign a strategic partnership agreement with one of the world’s leaders on this market, ExxonMobil. This project promises to be highly interesting and ambitious. Today's event is sure to receive a positive reaction from the world energy markets; Exxon’s exploration of Russia’s strategic continental and deep water shelf will open new horizons.”
“The South Stream project is not connected with gas prices in any way. <…> We are suggesting that a pipeline be built from the Russian shore to Bulgaria to fully guarantee unbroken supplies to Bulgaria and all of Southern Europe. That’s what this is about: to reduce transit risks to the lowest possible or eliminate them entirely. To this end, upgrading the infrastructure is the main thing.”
“As far as Nabucco is concerned, I have repeatedly said and will continue to say that if someone completes an economic feasibility study of this project, and if this study can form the foundation of this project, then Godspeed, let the project move forward. But we realise that Azerbaijani gas will not be enough to fill the Nabucco pipeline to capacity.”
“Before building something you first need to sign a supply contract. Building a pipeline without any contracts is senseless and highly risky. No one in this business would do that. Please, name at least one contract that has been signed under the Nabucco project. We can sign such contracts for the South Stream but I do not see anybody who would be keen to do the same under Nabucco. However, this does not mean that the project is impossible to implement. Who knows, the situation in Europe may change, Europe could start consuming so much natural gas, that demand would grow so fast that European consumers would cling to any opportunity. Then it would make sense to consider alternative routes. I believe that this is still premature.”
"South Stream is becoming truly pan-European and a major energy project. We signed a concluding agreement with all the European partners that are necessary for the implementation of this project."
"Russia has never and will never, I would like to draw your attention - will never - disrupt supplies. Transit country problems are alone to blame for whatever disruptions there are, but I rely on Ukraine-our partner, friend and main transiter-to comply with its contractual obligations in conformity with last January's agreement. There is a contract for natural gas supplies to Ukraine and another, with a ten year term, for Russian natural gas transits to Europe. Every obligation is to be complied with. Russia will not be the cause of any problem if the transit countries are true to their pledges."
"Extending the Druzhba (Friendship) Pipeline is also bound to promote our energy cooperation. We discussed this idea in detail today. I am referring to the branch of the pipeline from Bratislava to the oil refinery in Schwechat, near Vienna. Our Austrian and Slovakian partners will work together on this project. This will require a certain amount of effort on our part as well as additional study, but we are ready to work together."
"Nothing has changed in the principles of building up today's economy. Competitiveness is always the first priority. If energy cooperation and Nord Stream provide for the competitiveness of the economies of Germany and Russia, if we supply relatively cheap gas to the market - because pipeline gas is always cheaper than liquefied - then this will contribute to the stability and competitiveness of the German economy. Who would refuse such an opportunity? Nobody would ever give that up. And rightly so. I hope that nobody will give it up. Today, when dealing with a unified Europe, we must be patient and obtain the necessary permits from countries the exclusive economic zones of which the pipeline system traverses. We must convince them of the project's expediency. I hope that we will be able to do this."
"Whether Nord Stream will be built or not, and I think that it will be, I'm confident of that - it's actually just a detail. Of course, it is important, but from the point of view of intergovernmental relations, it is a small detail. After all, sometime in the 1960s, we started building our gas system specifically tailored to meet the needs of consumers in the FRG. And at the time some countries put enormous pressure on the FRG to abandon these plans. But even in the middle of the Cold War, when the construction of the Berlin Wall began, the German government was conscious of its national interests, did not cave in to the pressure and saw this project through to the end. Surely, today we won't cave in to any kind of pressure in view of the clear interest of the German and Russian economies in this cooperation? In the modern world, many things will be resolved differently. Even so, interests take precedence, and applying pressure, whether military, political, economic, diplomatic or any other kind of pressure, has no prospects. Basically, that's the way it always was."
"South Stream spectacularly enhances Russian hydrocarbon supplies to Europe, promising sizeable extra exports with our Italian partners' participation. Eni and Gazprom have agreed to increase the amount of pumped gas from 31 billion cubic metres a year to 63."
"I know that Mr Schroeder, and the executive management of Nord Stream, are working very hard to move this project forward. The project is becoming ever more international and pan-European in scale. We are well aware of this, and have discussed this on several occasions. The European shortfall in energy supply will grow. That's why we must explain our position calmly and work on implementing this very important European project."
“I think the document we are referring to is unprofessional and insufficiently thought out, to put it mildly, because one cannot be serious in discussing such matters without the principal supplier's participation. The document also says that the volume of pumped gas should be the main incentive for lucrative investments. This is natural, since transit fees are a means of paying back the loan, but has anyone asked our opinion as to whether we can cope with such volumes of gas in the future, or whether we will do so?”
"What matters most, I stress, is that there is no way to arrange an increase of Russian gas exports without Russian participation. I hope this message is heard. We are willing to work constructively with all our partners the way we have repeatedly declared, and on the basis of principles that we have formulated and have been proceeding from in our work."
“We have made considerable loans to our other CIS partners. An application has been made to discuss the prospects with Ukraine, and we have posed the question to our European partners. As I have said, they replied that they had no spare money for Ukraine just now. However, we are continuing a dialogue with our Ukrainian and European partners, and we will discuss the issue later on.”
“The European Commission is paying ever greater attention to energy transport-in particular, natural gas piping via Ukraine. That is good, as is the attempt to put the gas transport operator under the control of international legal norms and regulations. I think we should, and can, support it.”
“Still, some problems remain unsettled, including the declaration you have mentioned. I have read it. It says that the normal performance of the gas piping system is an earnest of political stability in Ukraine and the European Union countries. However essential those matters might be, they should not acquire excessive political colouring. One should not take it too far. Next, though the declaration refers to the independence of the gas transport operator, its wording is too obscure to see what independence and from whom said independence is meant.”
“We have made sufficient loans to our CIS partners. Prospects for a loan to Ukraine are being discussed. We have called on our European partners at recent meetings of various levels to pool our efforts for a joint loan to Ukraine-to which the European Commission responded by saying it could not afford the loan. Does this mean someone is out to exploit the economic crisis to rob Ukraine of its gas piping system? If so, that is a bad way to settle the problem-I know how sensitive Ukraine is on the government holding of gas transport.”
“Either you have gas or you have none-and call it anyway you like. Russia has gas, and has enough of it to satisfy our own growing demands and that of our European consumers for a hundred years to come, or even longer. I say this with full confidence, relying on serious studies.”
“As for other routes, we have nothing against them. However, Project Nabucco, so frequently talked about now, does not cut the number of transit countries. True, it bypasses Ukraine, but it actually increases the number of transit countries - Azerbaijan, Turkey, Georgia, and even more because the pipeline will not work at full capacity unless, for instance, Iran joins the project. We will be glad to see the project implemented someday. It will improve the balance of European energy supply.”
“We have also drafted a separate document on building a major underground gas storage facility in Hungary, with Hungarian company MOL acting as Gazprom's partner in the project.”
“The feasibility study of the South Stream Hungarian stretch will be completed before the end of the year-possibly by September. The feasibility study of the entire South Stream system must be completed by June 2010, and the construction deadline is December 31, 2015. The system must start working that day.”
“We intend to pump 10 billion cubic metres of gas along the Hungarian stretch. The entire South Stream is designed for 31 billion, but it might be more. Construction is estimated at 10 billion euros now, but we might do with less as construction material prices are plummeting. There are no problems with financing, though energy prices are dropping and there are other economic problems-in particular, shrinking volumes. There are no problems, either-at least for the time being-with attracting money to this and similar projects.”
“Gazprom, together with its partners - Shell, Mitsui, and Mitsubishi - will soon launch capacities for liquefying and transporting natural gas produced in the Sakhalin area, and that is also Russia's contribution to global energy security. Incidentally, LNG technologies and market have bright growth prospects and are extremely important for energy security.”
“We intend to build transport infrastructure in all directions. The first stage of the pipeline system Eastern Siberia - Pacific Ocean is in the final stage. Its terminal point will be a new oil port in Kozmina Bay and an oil refinery in the Vladivostok area. In the future a gas pipeline will be laid parallel to the oil pipeline, toward the Pacific and China. We are beginning another project with Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, the Caspian Pipeline. I would like to emphasize that we should certainly make the environment one of our priorities while implementing such projects. We always conduct environmental studies at early stages of each project to take care of environmental issues. We also make substantial investments in restoring the environment.”
“I propose we start laying down a new international legal framework for energy security. Implementation of our initiative could play a political role comparable to the treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community. I have no doubts on this matter. That is to say, consumers and producers would finally be bound by a real single energy partnership based on clear-cut legal foundations.”
“Guaranteeing the transit of energy resources remains a challenge. There are several ways of tackling it, and all must be used. The first is to adopt generally recognised market principles of fixing tariffs on transit services. They can be recorded in international legal documents. This practice should affect oil and gas, nuclear fuel, and power generation to some extent. The second is to develop and diversify the routes of energy transportation. We have been working long and hard along these lines.”
“I am convinced that projects such as South Stream (a gas pipeline that will run to Bulgaria under the Black Sea) and Nord Stream (to reach Germany directly across the Baltic Sea) are equally needed for Europe's energy security. Their total estimated capacity is something like 85 billion cubic meters of gas a year. Some of our partners and Europe have recently proposed expanding this capacity. We are considering their proposals now; in fact, I think it is the proper time to consider expansion.”
