Rosneft Not Planning to Sell Sakhalin-Komsomolsk Section of Gas Pipeline

KHABAROVSK. March 20 (Interfax) – Russia’s Rosneft (RTS: ROSN) is not planning to sell a section of its gas pipeline running from Sakhalin to Komsomolsk-on-Amur in the near future, Rosneft President Sergei Bogdanchikov told journalists on Thursday following a meeting with Khabarovsk territory Governor Viktor Ishayev.

“Rosneft owns almost 3,000 kilometers of pipeline systems in the Far East, and they are all interconnected. At present, we are not planning to sell any part of this system – not to Gazprom or any other company,” he said.

“From our view, we feel a responsibility and a duty to expand this system based on requests from Gazprom and other companies. If Gazprom (RTS: GAZP) comes to us with a proposal to expand this system, we will expand it,” he said, noting that the company has yet to receive any proposals of this kind.

Bogdanchikov and Ishayev also discussed an increase in the throughput capacity of the Rosneft-owned section of the Okha- Komsomolsk-on-Amur-Khabarovsk pipeline.

“An increase in throughput capacity is needed to ensure supplies of specific volumes of gas in the framework of a contract signed in 2005 with Exxon, the operator of the Sakhalin-1 project,” Bogdanchikov said, adding that part of the pipeline system will be replaced and compressor stations will be installed to increase capacity.

(c) 2008 Daily News Bulletin; Moscow – English. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.