- Title: RUSSIA: TOP OIL EXPORTER YOKOS SAYS IT IS REDUCING OIL SUPPLIES TO CHINA
- Date: 21st September 2004
- Summary: (U3) MOSCOW, RUSSIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) 1. SLV EXTERIOR OF YUKOS HEADQUARTERS IN MOSCOW/ PAN DOWN; SLV MAIN ENTRANCE OF YUKOS BUILDING; YUKOS BUILDING 0.24 (U3) ANGARSK, SIBERIA, RUSSIA (FILE: AUGUST 26, 2004) (REUTERS) 2. SLV MAIN YUKOS OIL LOADING FACILITY / SIGN; SLV YUKOS OIL STORAGE TANKER; WIDE OF YUKOS OIL STORAGE TANKERS AT ANGARSK FACILITY; SCU OIL STORAGE TANKER WITH YUKOS EMBLEM 0.51 3. SLV YUKOS OIL TRANSPORT TANKERS ON TRAINS, MOVING AT FACILITY AT ANGARSK; OIL TANKERS MOVING ALONG RAILWAY/ CLOSE-UP 1.22 4. LAS OIL BEING LOADED INTO OIL TANKER FOR RAIL TRANSPORT; MV YUKOS WORKER MOVING PIPE TO LOAD OIL INTO TANKER; SLV OIL TANKERS BEING LOADED 1.41 5. SCU PIPE LOADING OIL INTO TANKER/ STEAM RISING 1.48 6. SLV YUKOS PETROL STATION / CARS FILLING UP; SCU PETROL PUMP; SLV CARS AT YUKOS PETROL STATION; WIDE OF PETROL STATION Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 6th October 2004 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: MOSCOW, RUSSIA/ ANGARSK, SIBERIA, RUSSIA
- Country: Russia
- Reuters ID: LVA4O3DUC4KHC5QDO2MMXLQ2KBXG
- Story Text: YUKOS says it is reducing oil supplies to China;
cites problems in paying export duties and railway fees.
Oil prices rose on Monday (September 20, 2004) climbing
towards $46 U.S. dollars a barrel after YUKOS, Russia's top
oil exporter, said on Sunday (September 19) it was reducing
most of its oil shipments to China due to problems in
paying export duties and railway fees because of frozen
bank accounts.
If YUKOS were to cut supplies to China it could
embarrass the government less than a week before China's
Prime Minister Wen Jiabao is due to visit Moscow to prepare
a visit by President Vladimir Putin to Beijing planned for
next month.
YUKOS said it had indefinitely suspended all deliveries
to the China National Petroleum Company (CNPC),
representing some 400,000 tonnes per month, or 100,000
barrels per day.
Supplies to Sinopec, Asia's largest refiner,
representing 200,000 tonnes per month, will continue so
far.
The cut, although small compared to YUKOS' total
exports of over one million bpd, became the first sign of a
major supply disruption at YUKOS due to its financial
difficulties.
Transneft is the key oil export channel for YUKOS, as
for any other Russian oil firm. The monopoly sends over
four million bpd of crude to Western markets, of which some
600,000 bpd are pumped by YUKOS.
The company has repeatedly said it may be forced to cut
production and exports after bailiffs froze its bank
accounts as part of efforts to recover more than $7 billion
in back taxes from the company for 2000-2001.
YUKOS' tax troubles are part of a broader campaign seen
by analysts as orchestrated by the Kremlin to punish its
founder, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, for political activities. He
is now on trial on fraud and tax evasion charges.
Russian oil pipeline monopoly Transneft said on Monday
it believed YUKOS would be able to pay export shipping fees
for October, despite its decision to reduce exports to China
by rail.
"We have had no problem with YUKOS so far. They haven't
paid for October yet. Talks continue and we are confident
that they will find the money to pay," Transneft
vice-president Sergei Grigoriev told Reuters.
Grigoriev said the most recent analysis of the oil
output and export situation in Russia, the world's second
largest oil exporter, showed it would be very difficult to
replace YUKOS' volumes in the Transneft export system.
He has previously said Transneft would be able to
replace YUKOS' volumes in export pipelines, if the oil
major stopped paying shipping fees, forcing Transneft to
cut it from trunk pipelines.
"It would be very difficult to replace oil from YUKOS
with oil from other oil firms. No oil firm has spare
volumes at the moment, which means that replacing YUKOS'
export volumes will lead to supply shortages for domestic
refineries," he said.
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