Russia News Review: Би-би-си: Путин страдает от сильных болей в спине - BFM.Ru | NYT: Russia is not running out of oil, but it is running out of cheap oil | FT: Abramovich buys Norilsk stake to end row | FT: Russia vows to push army reform

IHT Rendezvous: Russia Is Running Out of Cheap Oil

from NYT International by By THANE GUSTAFSON

By next year, Rosneft will be the largest publicly traded oil company in the world. But even its partnerships with some of the world's leading oil companies may not be enough to save Russian production levels.

MOSCOW — Rosneft’s purchase of TNK-BP comes at a crucial time for the Russian oil industry — and for the Kremlin. Russia’s Soviet-era oil legacy is running down. It’s been a good long run. But if Russia is going to keep up production, it must now move on to places like the Arctic offshore and the remote tundra of East Siberia, places that are colder, harsher, farther out, and in a word, more costly. Russia is not running out of oil, but it is running out of cheap oil.
That’s where Rosneft comes in. By next year it will be the largest publicly traded oil company in the world. With over 54 percent of Russian production, it is the Russian state’s bet on the future. But can Rosneft do it all, even with some of the world’s leading oil companies as its strategic partners?
Read my story in the special energy section of the IHT, based on my new book, Wheel of Fortune: The Battle for Oil and Power in Russia.

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Thane Gustafson is a professor of government at Georgetown University, senior director of consultants IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates and author of several books on the Russian economy.

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Abramovich buys Norilsk stake to end row

from Financial Times - US homepage

Russian billionaire owner of Chelsea FC will acquire 7.3% stake to help resolve battle for control between metal producer’s two biggest investors

 

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Russian court move seen as power grab

via Financial Times - World on 12/4/12

Provisions in some contracts that previously protected foreign companies from being sued in Russian courts have been annulled

Russia vows to push army reform

via Financial Times - World on 12/4/12

Chief of general staff says moves to end conscription and create a professional military will go on despite purge of its main proponent

 

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Latitude: A Play About the Russian Lawyer Sergei Magnitsky Hits London

from NYT > Opinion-Global by By OLIVER BULLOUGH

When the death of a Russian whistleblower becomes the plot for a hit play in London, you know the Kremlin has lost control of the message.

 

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Ukraine inches up on international corruption index - Kyiv Post

from Top Stories - Google News

Kyiv Post

Ukraine inches up on international corruption index Kyiv Post Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index shows qualitative assessments of a country's level of corruption in the administrative and public sectors. Darker red colors on the map show more corrupt countries, while light yellow indicates cleaner ... and more »

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Би-би-си: Путин страдает от сильных болей в спине - BFM.Ru

from В мире – Новости Google

BFM.Ru

Би-би-си: Путин страдает от сильных болей в спине BFM.Ru Российский президент Владимир Путин страдает от сильных болей в спине, делает вывод Русская служба Би-би-си на основе многочисленных фотографий его визита в Турцию. Би-би-си отмечает, что, судя по фотографиям, турецкому премьеру Реджепу Тайипу Эрдогану даже ... и другие »