Photo, above: The Government has already adopted a number of supporting measures for the companies engaged into the gas sector. In particular, the Directive on Basic Measures Aimed at Reinforcing Russia's Stance in the Global Energy Industry until January 1, 2016 issued by the Russian Federation Government on April 12, 2012 gives an impetus to large-scale exploration and development of the continental shelf resources. The measures contained in the document include differentiated severance tax rates for hydrocarbons, zero export duties, and a property tax discount. However, these conditions do not apply to large gas fields awaiting production in the nearest future – Prirazlomnoye andKirinskoye. Besides, a 12 per cent return rate set in Gazprom for production projects, is not attainable even taking into account all mentioned actions.  Vladimir Vladimirovich ("Vova") in the Moscow Kremlin; he controls Gazprom and Rosneft (Газпрома and Роснефть) 

JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW

Sunday  905PM Eastern (605P Pacific): Richard Epstein, Hoover, in re: what’s wrong with Obamacare and the election, 1 of 2

Sunday 920PM Eastern (620P Pacific): Richard Epstein, Hoover, in re: what’s wrong with Obamacare and the election, 2 of 2

This new "city," however, will just be a cluster of high-tech administrative buildings, although the main tower "is to rise at least 300 meters (985 feet) into the sky and symbolize the growing power of the firm. It is also to be situated just opposite the famed 18th century Smolny Cathedral on the Neva River in historic St. Petersburg."

Sunday 935PM Eastern (635P Pacific): . Lauren Goodrich, in re: Russia, the Twenty-first Century energy superpower; what can go wrong, and why, with Gazprom and Rosneft?

Sunday 950PM Eastern (650P Pacific):  David Davenport, Hoover, in re: Commander in Chief - what are the duties, and what about the presidential debate?

Sunday 1005PM EDT (705P Pacific): John Glover, Bloomberg, in re:  the trouble with Greece, the lomng struggle, the hunger and despair and abandonment,

Sunday 1020PM EDT (720P Pacific):  Brian Chen, NYT, in re: Apple introduces the iPad Mini. What can go wrong? also, the iPad4 and the Macbook Pro 13-inch Retina; nothing in the stores till November,

Sunday 1035PM EDT (735P Pacific): Ed Lazear, Hoover & Stanford, in re: the deficit and the tax hike of 2013 – who'll pay?

Sunday 1050PM EDT (750P Pacific): Ron Nixon, NYT, in re: farmland prices skyrocket, new bubble? The market in farmland takes off in Iowa and the Plains

Much of Iraq's export capability was lost during the Iran-Iraq War, either to war-related damage or due to political reasons. In 1982, for instance, Syria (allied with Iran at the time) closed the 500-mile, 650,000-bbl/d-capacity Banias pipeline, which had been a vital Iraqi access route to the Mediterranean Sea and European oil markets. By 1983, Iraq's export capabilities were only 700,000 bbl/d, or less than 30% of operable field production capacity at that time. 

Sunday 1105PM EDT (805P Pacific): The Twilight War: The Secret History of America's Thirty-Year Conflict with Iran by David Crist; 1of 4

Sunday 1120PM EDT (820P Pacific): The Twilight War: The Secret History of America's Thirty-Year Conflict with Iran by David Crist;  2 of 4

Sunday 1135PM EDT (835P Pacific): The Twilight War: The Secret History of America's Thirty-Year Conflict with Iran by David Crist; 3 of 4

Sunday 1150PM EDT (850P Pacific): The Twilight War: The Secret History of America's Thirty-Year Conflict with Iran by David Crist; 4 of 4

Sunday/Mon 1205AM EDT (905 Pacific): Bruce Thornton, Hoover, in re: democracy and foreign policy debate - what does it mean to be a democracy?

Sunday/Mon 1220AM EDT (920 Pacific):  Ying Ma, in re: what did China hear in the presidential debate?

Sunday/Mon 1235AM EDT (935P Pacific): Richard Epstein, Hoover, in re:  what’s wrong with Obamacare and the election, 1 of 2

Sunday/Mon 1250AM EDT (950P Pacific): Richard Epstein, Hoover, in re:  what’s wrong with Obamacare and the election, 2 of 2

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Because Gazprom City "is part of a longer range plan by Russian President Vladimir Putin to boost the prestige of his home city," however, it seems unlikely that the project will be held back. This, after all, may be St. Petersburg's newest architectural moment: "Much of the development that has occurred in recent years has benefited Moscow, whereas St. Petersburg has seen little change. Only recently, with the celebration of the city's 300th birthday in 2003, did the city begin awakening from its centuries-long sleep. But even as high-tech projects and a new theater designed by Sir Norman Foster have gone ahead, major changes to the city center, with its numerous UNESCO-protected royal residences and palaces, are considered taboo."

* wikipedia: Rosneft conducts oil and gas exploration and production activities on Sakhalin island, Siberia, Timan-Pechora field and southern Russia, including Chechnya. It owns and operates two refineries. The refinery in Tuapse, on the Black Sea, focuses on refining high-gravity oil from western Siberia. Another plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur is the easternmost refinery in Russia. The Komsomolsk Refinery benefits from its technological integration with Nakhodkanefteprodukt, while the Tuapse Refinery is noted for its favorable location on the Black Sea coast and is part of an integrated complex with Tuapsenefteprodukt. Rosneft operates shipping (Arkhangelsknefteprodukt), pipeline and marketing companies. As of 29 December 2006, the company's market value was US$83.908 billion.[1] Rosneft net income fell 20% for the first quarter of 2009 from $2.56 billion to $2.06 billion due to the weakness of oil price. Rosneft is 75.16% owned by the Russian state, while around 15% of the shares are in free float.

Original Rosneft was established in 1993 as a unitary enterprise on the basis of assets previously held by Rosneftegaz, the successor to the Soviet Union's Ministry of Oil and Gas. During early 90s almost all Russian local oil companies and refineries were extracted from Rosneft to form ten integrated companies (later their number was halved as a result of acquisitions). On 29 September 1995, a Government of Russia Resolution № 971 transformed Rosneft into an open joint stock company. In October 1998, the Russian government appointed Sergey Bogdanchikov as president. The company had only two obsolete refineries and several low-productive and poorly managed oil-producing assets. Several plans for company's privatization were composed in late 1990s but due to struggle of equal influential pretenders they were never fulfilled.

Rosneft increased oil output from 98.56 million bbl (13.47 million tonnes) in 2000 to 148.26 million bbl (20.27 million tonnes) in 2004. In 2001, the company became Russia's official representative on projects with production sharing agreements (PSA). In 2003, it began production at the Aday block near the Caspian Sea in Western Kazakhstan. In 2004 the company agreed to merge with Gazprom. The merger plans were discarded in May 2005, allegedly because Bogdanchikov did not wish to take a lesser role in the integrated company answering to Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller.

Der Spiegel reports on Gazprom City: the future, rather evocatively named St. Petersburg headquarters for Russian energy giant Gazprom, currently the subject of a high-profile design competition. 

Yukos auctions Since 2004, a series of government auctions have been organized to sell Yukos assets, the majority being won by Rosneft. On 22 December 2004, Rosneft purchased a little known Russian oil company called Baikal Finance Group. Three days earlier, the previously unheard-of Baikal Group had purchased former Yukos subsidiary Yuganskneftegaz (Yugansk) at a state-run auction, ostensibly to satisfy tax debts. This was viewed by many as a de facto nationalization of Yugansk, and was denounced by Andrei Illarionov, then a senior Putin economic advisor, as “the scam of the year.” However, despite criticisms, the addition of Yungansk resulted in Rosneft becoming Russia's second-largest producer of oil and gas by 2005, with an average output of 1.69 million bpd. In June 2007, Rosneft paid $731 million for Yukos transportation assets. Although the Yukos acquisition increased debt considerably, the company still planned to triple refining capacity and expand into China.

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