Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin told Vladimir Putin about the execution of his instructions on stepping up efforts in the Far East, about the company’s cooperation with the Sakhalin Region Government and the negotiations with Exxon Mobil on the construction of an LNG plant. The videoconference participants discussed the specific parameters of the plant, the choice of its location, the prospects for sales of its products in the Asia-Pacific region. Head of ExxonMobil Development Neil Duffin said that cooperation with Rosneft also continues in the Arctic and the Black Sea.
According to Igor Sechin, Rosneft has discussed the construction of a shipbuilding facility in the Far East that will supply equipment for its offshore projects with the largest manufacturer of marine equipment South Korea's STX, the Russian United Shipbuilding Corporation and Gazprombank. Rosneft needs 394 units of such equipment, including 15 exploration platforms, 106 production platform, 16 ships and more than 200 seismic vessels. STX CEO Duk-soo Kang spoke about the joint projects with the United Shipbuilding Corporation, in particular the construction of the Zvezda shipyard in the Far East.
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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, Mr Sechin, colleagues and friends,
I want to greet you in the eastern part of Russia, where we all are today, but we have a big country and there is still a huge distance between us.
You have a good reason to be in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk – I know about your plans and your cooperation. Before we start our discussion, I would like to congratulate all the project participants in Sakhalin on the way you have organised your work.
I see that apart from the Rosneft executives there are also some of our proven, long-standing partners. I am pleased to note that you have established such effective cooperation. Moreover, it doesn’t just look successful at present, but also has good prospects in the short, medium and long term.
I wish you every success and today I am ready to give you my undivided attention, to discuss your immediate plans and what support the federal authorities can offer you.
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Vladimir Putin: I would like to wish all of you success and finish our conversation by addressing Mr Sechin: Your company enjoys almost a monopoly status, not only in Sakhalin, but also in other regions of the Far East. Therefore I hope the company will not abuse its monopoly position, and will comply with Russia’s antitrust legislation and work under the supervision of the Federal Antimonopoly Service.
The authorities of Sakhalin and other regions of the Russian Federation must do everything possible to attract other Russian companies to their regions, bearing in mind that this will ultimately benefit the development of the Far East’s economy and benefit consumers, including households.
I wish you every success and want to thank our foreign colleagues for their efforts to develop relations with their Russian partners. Thank you very much. I wish you a good working day tomorrow.
All the best!