| TOPIC OF THE ISSUE |
 Thorns and roses
OilMarket discusses the difficulties and prospects of development in Russia’s oil sector with director of the Oil Refining Association, Viktor Ryabov. |
| PERSON OF THE ISSUE |
 Jorge Montepeque,
global director of market reporting at Platts
They've done it, after all. On 22 May Russian Trade System stock exchange (RTS) and Platts global information provider inked the dotted line of licensing agreement in Moscow granting access to pricing information on oil and oil products. For Jorge Montepeque, this is a significant step for fortifying Platts standing on strategic for the company Russian market. |
| PHOTO OF THE ISSUE |
 Phantoms in Niger Delta
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) is a well-armed, well-organized group of youth who aim to localize control of the Niger Delta's oil wealth. MEND is targeting the oil multinationals that export 2.5mn b/d of oil from the region, specifically Shell, which is responsible for nearly half of those exports. |
| EVENT |
 Dupont: reputataion brings profit
This May, DuPont opened an office in Moscow — the company plans to promote cutting edge technologies and trademarks |
| TRANSPORTATION |
 The sacred branches of Transnefteprodukt
Russia's operator of trunk oil products pipelines tunes into the realities of Russia's refining industry and the country's economy at large. |
| REFINING |
 The science paradise
OilMarket visited Institut Francais du Petrole
Talking on better times for oil industry, Russian, Ukrainian and Kazakh experts often cite Institut Francais du Petrole (IFP) as an example. FSU industry professionals are jealous of both the budget enjoyed by the IFP (some ˆ300mn annually) and by France's legislation, which is geared up to defend intellectual property rights, a robust money-making engine. The OilMarket visited the IFP to find out what is exactly going on in this think-tank of European refining, how the centre is financed and which development goals it works on. The visit is first in our programme of studying France's experience in producing alternative fuels. |
| DOMESTIC MARKET |
 Euro-2 - unattainable standards?
Russia is unprepared for new rules of cars import
Andrei Belianinov, the new head of Russia's Federal customs service reckons that the country is unprepared for the new rules of cars import. «The new rules have loopholes, the customs points in the Far East have no technical control facilities issuing relevant vehicle certificates», he said. |
| NATURAL GAS |
 The natural gas balance
An outlook for forming the global market of ideal fuel
Experts forecast that the consumption of natural gas will increase almost 30% in the next 20 years. It was no coincidence that this figure was given by Shell's E&P executive director Malcolm Brinded. If this data is placed next to research by the International Energy Agency (IEA), which predict that the world's demands for energy will grow from 50-60% by 2030, then world society would do well to scratch its head about forming a global energy security concept. |
| COMPANIES |
 Bashneft steps aside
Controlling stakes of Bashkortostan energy companies changed the owner. Most likely this is a token move. |
| COMPANIES |
 The surprise effect
Yukos sells its Mazeikiu Nafta stake to Poland's Orlen
The two-year negotiations of beleaguered Yukos, Lithuania's government and the hopefuls for Yukos stake in Mazeikiu Nafta (MN) are over — on 29 May the company, having received a «green light» from the US court which lifted its earlier ban on assets trading, inked a sales agreement with Poland's PKN Orlen. Though the Polish company was a frontrunner, experts doubted that Lithuania would agree to the bid as Orlen has no own crude so much desired by Vilnius. Now, this earlier key demand of Lithuania's government to the potential buyers becomes examination for the Poles. |
| TECHNOLOGY |
 Broad density range
Measuring nitrogen, sulphur and chloride content in liquid and solid samples
Precise measurement of nitrogen, sulphur and chloride content is vital in analysis of liquid and solid samples. Such analysis are used in petrochemical industry (production of lubricants, fuels, resin, catalysts), in examination of waste, wood tissue, saline, etc. Depending on the type of the sample, both matrix composition and content vary greatly. |
| TECHNOLOGY |
 Convincing versatility
AnalyticaExpo — 2006, the summary
Demanding requirements of Russia's companies to measuring and testing equipment are being matched by suppliers, as proved 4th International Specialised Exhibition of Analytical Equipment, Labs furniture and chemicals AnalyticalExpo — 2006. |
