CEO: Rosneft to sell all fuel on Russian market in Jul–Dec

MOSCOW, Aug 18 (PRIME) -- Russian oil major Rosneft will not export fuel, but supply the entire produced volume on the domestic market in July–December, CEO Igor Sechin told President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.

“Rosneft will, of course, continue the policy of responsible supplies for internal consumption that is recovering in Russia after a period of decline. We will export nothing in the second half of the year, and will supply the entire volume we produce to the domestic market,” he said.

Putin said that Russia’s economy has shrunk less than the economies of many other states including European.

“The global economy will rise, and the Russian economy will rise… As far as I can see, we will have a lower decrease than in many other states including European states. Let us see the year’s results,” he said.

Sechin told Putin about changes in Rosneft’s plans to construct a new petrochemical complex in the Far Eastern city of Nakhodka.

“Due to adjustments to the tax regime, we have been forced to postpone implementation of the project for some time. At the same time, we are ready to return to it as far as there is a fiscal regime that ensures feasibility of the project and return on investment… We need a stable tax regime to make plans on the plant’s economy for at least 30 years,” he said.

Putin asked Sechin to send him proposals on the facility, including taxes.

Sechin also said that Rosneft started drilling in the Kara Sea in July using its own facilities.

“In July 2020, despite the sanctions regime, Rosneft began drilling in the Kara Sea by itself,” he said.

Sechin also said he is sure that operations of the North Chaivo project on the Sakhalin Island shelf, which were suspended because of obligations under the OPEC+ oil production cut deal, will recover in 18–24 months.

The OPEC+ countries agreed to reduce their oil output by significant 9.7 million barrels per day in May to fight the consequences of the global coronavirus crisis, with Russia’s share of 2.5 million barrels per day. Later, the cut was prolonged at 9.7 million barrels per day for July, and narrowed to 7.7 million barrels per day for August. The agreement is valid until April 30, 2022, but the members will revise its extension in December 2021.

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