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The Russian government's long-awaited ruling transferring control of production-sharing agreements (PSAs) to the trade and economic development ministry was issued on 6 February. The ministry, headed by influential reform figure [...]

'Uday Saddam Husseyn, the eldest son of Saddam Husseyn, said that a number of Russian firms working with Iraq were actually being used as covers for British and American companies, [...]

Governor Anatolii Lisitsyn has won a case brought against him by a local doctor who objected to his February resolution requiring wine and vodka products to carry a local stamp, [...]

Russia's Ministry of Trade and Material Resources will be dissolved on Oct 1, 1992. A potentially inadequate Federal Contract System will replace the ministry. The Federal Contract system is designed to make suppliers' relation to the state profitable, but unless the state institutes low taxation rates and promises to purchase goods at market prices suppliers will not profit from the system. Also, enterprises involved in the Ministry of Trade and Material Resources will be privatized.

Russia should first develop the terms of its entry before applying for membership into the World Trade Organization (WTO). This requires a definition of an economic development policy that will determine the limits it will impose on foreigners' access to its national goods and services market. The Russian government has to realize that once it becomes a WTO member, it will no longer have the capacity to further restrict its trade regime in relation to other member-countries. In formulating the terms of its entry, Russia should make sure to protect its own national service sector.

Not to be slowed down by promises to Opec or by nasty weather that hampers loadings, Russian oil companies are finding new ways to move crude oil out of the [...]

Russia's quota on crude oil and oil products exports has been abolished by a federal government edict. In addition, the tax on crude oil exports has been reduced temporarily from 23 European currency units (ECUs) per tonne to 7 ECUs per ton. Access to Russian pipelines, oil terminals and ports will be put under the aegis of a new government regulatory entity. The edict also creates a government commission to deal with the issue of domestic quotas.

Russia's Duma has promised to push forward production-sharing agreement (PSA) legislation during its autumn session, which started this week. In November, the second reading of the PSA chapter of the [...]

The Russian government appears undecided on whether to introduce fuel oil export quotas this winter to ensure that power stations are adequately supplied. Energy minister Igor Yusufov said this week [...]

Russia's natural resources ministry has prepared a draft version of a new subsoil code to be submitted to the government by October. Oil firms have given its proposals the thumbs-up, [...]

The federal energy commission (FEK), which regulates the tariffs of Russia's 'natural monopolies', will not review new tariff proposals from crude pipeline monopoly Transneft before 1 October. FEK has requested [...]

Russia is negotiating a long-term agreement with Uzbekistan that will allow up to 60-billion cubic meters of natural gas to annually enter into Russia's pipeline network. Officials from both nations and from Gazprom, Russian's natural gas monopoly, met in Tashkent, Uzbekistan to discuss the project.

Russia has opted to head off a price war with Opec by agreeing to continue its pledged crude export restrictions into the second quarter, in a decision taken by the [...]

Two Opec leaders will travel to Moscow this week to lobby Russia to renew its pledge of a 150,000 b/d cut in oil exports for the second quarter of the [...]

Russia is to cut its crude export duty to $8 per metric ton in February and March, from 23.4 euros ($20.84)/ton at present, according to a recommendation by the Commission [...]

Russia's pledge to cut crude exports by 150,000 barrels per day is not expected to result in a flood of gas oil and fuel oil to European markets, as many [...]