Russia Co. to Sell Crude Oil to U.S.

(AP) ^ | ANGELA CHARLTON

[Dallas]

MOSCOW --

Russia's No. 2 oil producer Yukos will send its first tankers to the United States this summer, a top executive said Thursday, as part of a Russian effort to offer U.S. consumers an alternative to Persian Gulf oil.

Russia currently supplies a tiny percentage of U.S. imports, but U.S. officials have expressed interest in increasing Russia's share of the market. Oil is Russia's chief export and oil export taxes are a big part of the national budget.

"We plan to start pilot oil shipments to the U.S. East Coast or the Gulf of Mexico," Mikhail Brudno, first vice president of Yukos, was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying at an investor conference.

"We believe we will be able to develop such a system where oil shipments to the United States will be just as efficient as to Europe," he said. He did not say how much oil the shipments would include.

Other Yukos officials said the move was largely symbolic and it is still far too expensive for them to ship large amounts of crude to American consumers.

"For Russia to become a primary supplier to the U.S., it probably requires some additional infrastructure," Yukos chief financial officer Bruce Misamore said. "Some of the facilities that we need such as deep-water ports don't even exist."

Misamore said as long as Russian producers can sell all their crude closer to home, it makes no sense to lose money by paying extra transportation costs.

However "as long as we're expanding production we may have to look for new outlets to sell our crude ... and the U.S. could be one of those places," he said.

High world oil prices drove Russia's economic growth in 2000 and 2001 -- and the growth of Yukos and other Russian oil companies.

Yukos on Thursday announced that its net profit in 2001 fell to $3.5 billion from $3.7 billion the year before, as a fall in crude prices in the final months of the year offset its higher production volumes and exports.

The company nonetheless said it would raise its annual dividend 78 percent to 21 cents a share from 12 cents. That represents a dividend payout of approximately $500 million.

The figures were generally above analysts' forecasts.

Copyright © 2002, The Associated Press

[summer]

stripes1776, Your comment here is totally off-base: But Bush just took the Florida gulf coast out of the picture by caving in to the environmentalists. I don't call that brilliant. I call it cheap politics.

I could link you to information to show you there are 99 leases in the Gulf, still available for drilling. And, link to info to prove there could be drilling in the future on these leases. Or, I could tell you the name of the oil company that still has the right to potentially start drilling in FL over the next 20 years. And, I could tell you why some say the recent action by Gov. Bush and GW did not go far enough, as they did not completely shut the door on drilling in FL. The door is open - but no one has walked through it yet.

Instead of linking to all the above facts, I will just tell you this: IMO, Gov. Bush and GW just made a brilliant political move with respect to FL, because after thinking more about this matter, and reading all these news articles, I predict you will soon see:

GW aggressively move forward to start drilling in Alaska.

I am guessing here, but this is why I think my prediction is right:

What GW and Gov. Bush also did through their joint action was to silence the critics who love to say: GW doesn't care about the environment; and, GW's claim of making decisions based on "local" concerns is bogus. Well, for whatever else they did, GW and Jeb just proved all these critics wrong in a very big way.

Consequently, I believe, you are going to see GW push again for drilling in Alaska, now pointing to FL as irrefutable evidence of what he has said all along (even though he did not give up the right to drill in FL either) -- that: (1) he does care about the nation's environment; (2) he is sensitive to local concerns; and (3) since everyone in Alaska DOES support drilling, we are going to try this again.

Watch what happens in the near future. I bet you this is what will happen: drilling in Alaska.

To give you an idea of how off base the Dems are on Alaska, did you know that Hoffa, the leader of a large union which supported drilling in Alaska, recently told Terry McAuliffe that: 'NO MORE MONEY IS GOING TO THE DEM PARTY FROM THIS UNION.' In fact, Hoffa, believe it or not, has publicly endorsed the following GOP governors: Ohio, NY (Pataki) and FL (Jeb Bush). This is an amazing shift. You can read more about it in Bob Novack's column in today's NY Post.

So, in short, there is a lot more to come with this drilling story. And, while I do not believe FL will be the NEXT place they drill, FL is a place where the USA still can drill -- but, the NEXT place WILL be: Alaska. Watch.

[Grampa Dave]

I really believe that most of the fish wraps, wire services and of course CNNABCCBSNBCMSNBCCSPAN don't have any real reporters left able to really report on the news.

They are all PC driven diversity clones trying to show how important the various dark side groups are. Also, they are just like little hit men on assignment to show how stupid GW or Sharon is for example. When real news like this breaks, they have no body on the news, and even the editors/publishers don't know how to handle real news when it breaks.

They are experts in manufactured news to make GW, Big Oil, Sharon, conservatives and Christians look bad or some phoney non news to back up one of their biased polls. Then they have zero ability to work on real upcoming news like this report.

GW understands this reality and is able to play off it like a master chess player. He does not make any PR announcements like the Clintoon to advance his legacy or to protect. GW and his team just work under the radar of the PC/Diversity/Left wing bias of the phoney news organizations. This puts him several steps ahead, and they are the ones trying to play catchup instead of GW's team.

As the stories break and more people say NO to the left wing mediots, they will be come even more irrevalent.

We can come to Free Republic and get more news and better analysis in 30 minutes or an hour than months of reading the fishwraps or watching: CNNABCCBSNBCMSNBCCSPAN.

Even Rush, Sean Hannity and Savage are out of date and inadequate to what we learn from Free Republic each time we log on. The fishwraps have a built in speed limittime machine that limits news to every 24 hours as per their control of news. They can't compete against the internet, Drudge, Newsmax and other services. By the time we get our afternoon newspaper, that news is often over 24 hours if there is any news. The PC/diversity driven editors/publishers are killing off their own papers with all of the Bravo Sierra PC/Diversity non news taking over their fish wraps.

We are truly living in exciting and changing times. The arrogance of the mediots will be their self destruction during these changing times. Once a news organization shows its self to be biased, irrelevant and incapable of doing real news, it is a goner. It may take months or even years, but it is a goner.

[laconic]

And our "friends" the Wahaabi-ist Saudis (home of 15 of the 19 mass murderers and lots of financial support for their filthy Saudi boss) can stick their oil where the sun don't shine; which is probably where they put some type of oil on a regular basis anyway.

[summer]

Also, stripes1776, re my above post: What just happened in this FL agreement was that certain sensitive areas, like the Everglades, will no longer be threatened by drilling -- which is smart, since the fed govt and FL gov are together investing millions to restore the Everglades and recover it as a source of water. And, no drilling can place in or near FL's shoreline and beaches in one area. Also, the rights of one private owner to drill have been purchased by the federal govt, and money was paid by the fed govt to settle a lawsuit over drilling the oil companies have long claimed was delayed.

But, protecting the beaches, tourism and the most sensitive areas of FL's environment is also what GW and Gov. Bush just did, and IMO, they were right to do that, since these are valuable resources. However, there can still be drilling in FL, depending on what happens next -- yet, it will not be in certain areas. Nothing wrong with that, because that is a balanced approach. And, I personally think since these changes, and since 9-1,1 there may be a shift in public opinion in FL, that will pave the way for drilling down the road, in the future -- as drilling still can be done in FL, though not everywhere in FL.

[Grampa Dave]

Thanks for your insight and data on what is really happening re not drilling in Floriduh in high impact and tourist areas. When I first heard of this, my thoughts were basically what you have posted re why GW did this. He has given those who care about clean nature their loaf of bread, and soon he will give those of us who want more oil our loaves of bread in the Gulf area.

Since I like clean beaches and water and love to fill up my OJ Simpson Big Bronco with low cost gasoline, it is a double win for me. What a novel concept in politics.

Please ping me when you present the real data re what is really happening re the oil business and GW.

[stripes1776]

GW aggressively move forward to start drilling in Alaska.
Watch what happens in the near future. I bet you this is what will happen: drilling in Alaska.

It ain't gonna happen. All Bush has done is embolden the environmentalists. They got a win from him in Florida, and now they know that all they have to do is never give an inch, and they win. They hate him just as much now as they ever did.

[Fish out of Water]

*Index Bump

[summer]

I totally disagree. Time will tell which one of us is right.

[summer]

They hate him just as much now as they ever did.

And, you are wrong here, too. His brother, Jeb, has a history of building better relationships with environmentalists, and again, the deal did not close the door to drilling in FL. What it did do was to take into account the most pressing concerns, and that is exactly what Gov. Bush has been doing since the day he came into office, and in fact, before that -- as he ran in 1998 on a platform that included an ambitious environmental preservation program, FL Forever, which he has made good on in FL.

Gov. Bush has been recognized and honored at least twice by environmentalists in this environmentally sensitive state, yet at no time did Gov. Bush waiver on his other obligations, to increase business and meet the needs of a state growing so fast we now have two more additional electoral votes as a result of the last census.

Environmentalists and Gov. Bush do not agree on every matter, but I think environmentalists in FL have seen that their concerns, especially when reflected in the majority of the population, are certainly taken into account by Gov. Bush -- and this was not the case with Dem leaders in FL, who refused to oppose a proposed commercial airport to be built in the Everglades. Many believe this insensitive position by Dem leaders, including Gore, cost Gore 96,000 votes in Nov 2000 -- from environmentalists, educators and homeowners in So FL. So, I think Gov. Bush has long had a better record with environmentalists and voters from the get go.

But environmentalists nationwide love to rip on GW. However, that criticism may sound more and more partisian to people as time goes on. And, I truly believe: GW is going to push again, in a big way, for Alaska drilling in the very near future.

Like I said, we'll have to wait and see....

[summer]

I meant: ...two additional electoral votes...

[summer]

Re my post #30 -- FYI, more info is available here:

'The Jeb Bush Nobody Knows' - Part 8: Why Some FL Dem Voters May "Never Forget" - and, vote for Jeb

[summer]

Re your post #26 - I'm sorry, but you totally lost me on your post there. I think you meant to be sarcastic, but, frankly, I don't know.

[summer]

Please ping me when you present the real data re what is really happening re the oil business and GW.

BTW, as far as I know, the one oil company that does retain rights to drill in FL is not owned nor operated by the Bush family. Furthermore, you sound unaware of Al Gore's close ties to oil companies, as you seem to think no one except the Bush family ever met anyone in the oil business.

[summer]

BTW, from Gov. Bush's campaign site, at www.jeb.org:

President and Governor Bush Prevent Drilling Off Florida’s Coasts and in the Everglades

On Wednesday, Governor Bush joined President George W. Bush at the White House to take historic action to protect Florida’s Everglades and coasts from oil and gas drilling.

In line with previous commitments to halt any new oil and gas exploration in Florida, the federal government will buy back leases sold by previous administrations. Last year, President and Governor Bush reached an agreement to ensure no new development within 100 miles of Florida's coast. Previous Democrat administrations had agreed to drilling within this 100-mile perimeter.

Highlights of this unprecedented agreement include:

No Drilling in Destin Dome – The federal government will buy back Chevron, Conoco, and Murphy Oil’s drilling rights to the Destin Dome area, located only 25 miles from Florida’s northwest coast, home of some of the world’s most beautiful beaches. This $115 million purchase will end years of litigation and protect these pristine beachers for the enjoyment of future generations.

No Drilling in the Florida Everglades – The National Park Service will purchase the Collier family’s oil and gas drilling rights in the Big Cypress National Preserve, the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, and the Ten Thousand Island National Wildlife Refuge for $120 million.

[summer]

Also see my post #35.

[Grampa Dave]

Never assume anything summer. I know all about Goron's ties to a very sinister oil company, Occidental and its direct connections with Armand Hammer. How could you make that assumption from what I posted? I tried to give you a compliment and you try to bite me in return! What gives here?

[El Sordo]

About stinking time.

[El Sordo]

Ooohhh....

Yer gonna get a time out for that if any of the Admin Mods know Russian..

[Lady In Blue]

Thanks for the post! I still have not heard anything from our sorry media and that INCLUDES conservative talk radio!