27 Nov 2006 14:58:43 GMT
By Dmitry Zhdannikov
MOSCOW, Nov 27 (Reuters) – Russian state auditor Sergei Abramov said on Monday he expects the Shell-led
“We are expecting the operator to show goodwill. We want the operator to take the initiative to improve the terms for the Russian Federation. I’m sure a mutually acceptable solution will be found. We believe it will be very soon,” Abramov told a briefing in Moscow.
Shell and its partners, Japan’s Mitsui <8031.T> and Mitsubishi <8058.T>, have infuriated Russia by doubling the cost estimate of the Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project to $22 billion, meaning the Russian state will have to wait longer to see any profit from the venture.
Abramov, a member of Russia’s state audit chamber, is charged with drawing up conclusions for an annual submission to the government on production sharing agreements (PSAs).
Russian officials have put pressure all of its three PSAs in the last few months, launching environmental and technical checks on ventures led by Exxon Mobil
Ministers have repeatedly said Russia has no plan to scrap the PSAs, but they have not explained how they might find a compromise over the costs, which have been the subject of negotiations since Shell announced its revised budget last year.
Abramov said Russia would not unilaterally revise the PSA, but it would never agree to a budget of $22 billion.
“But we are ready to review their new calculations when they are submitted,” he said, adding that he was confident a deal could be struck.
“It’s not mere optimism, it’s common sense. This project is important not only for its operator but for the Russian Federation as a whole.”
He said the terms of the PSA meant Russia would get 10 percent of project revenues regardless of oil prices, but it regarded that as unfair and it wanted a bigger slice of the profits when oil prices were higher.
Russian gas monopoly Gazprom
But Abramov said Gazprom’s inclusion in the group of Sakhalin-2 shareholders could pave the way for a solution to the dispute over the venture’s budget.
A spokesman for Shell in London declined to comment.
This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
