(Source: http://ria.ru/trend)

 “Rosneft” that has asked for the state financial aid in the amount 1.5 trillion roubles from the funds of NWF can count upon a sum many times smaller than that, the Minister of Economic Development Aleksei Ulyukayev said. The Ministry of Energy proposes to support certain investment projects of the company, a source in the ministry told to RBC.

“Basically, there are some options of the support, but, of course, the figure is many times smaller”- Ulyukayev told to reporters, recognizing that “Rosneft” is experiencing difficulties because of the United States sanctions. In July the Ministry of Finance of the United States prohibited American banks to give loans to the company for a term longer than 90 days.

In the mid-August it became known that the president of “Rosneft” Igor Sechin applied for financial aid from the government. He suggested several ways of support, one of which is the redemption of bonds costing 1.5 trillion roubles at the account of the National Welfare Fund (NWF). A source close to the government told to RBC that the Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev agreed to consider the issue of providing support to “Rosneft” after the company prepares certain suggestions together with the government.

During the last week’s meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich who supervises the fuel and energy complex of the government all concerned departments were asked to study the suggestions presented by the company, and “Rosneft” was asked to provide additional calculations.

The Ministry of Economic Development discussed this topic with the management of “Rosneft”, Ulyukayev said. He called the figure of 1.5 trillion roubles “unreal”. Neither Ulyukaev nor the representative of the Ministry of Economic Development did not tell what support can be provided to “Rosneft”. The representative of “Rosneft” did not respond to the request of RBC. The Ministry of Energy will most likely offer targeted support of the investment projects of “Rosneft”, a source in the Ministry told to RBC.  

He took the Eastern petrochemical complex as an example, because for its implementation other state-owned companies (“Gazprom”, Federal Grid Company and Russian Railways) were obliged to include the costs of the construction of the necessary infrastructure into their investment projects. We are probably talking about the projects of oil extraction on land, first of all, on Yurubcheno-Tokhomskoye field, as well as the production of gas and condensate on the fields of Kynsko-Chaselskaya group and Kharampurskoe field in Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District, the analyst of “Sberbank CIB” Valery Nesterov considers.

The production may significantly increase upon large investments in these projects, he said. The projects of scavenger oil extraction also need additional investments. In addition, “Rosneft” should invest in new technologies – R & D – in the period of sanctions, as Nesterov said.