KEEP JOCKING SRANAIA CHURKA, KEEP JOCKING…:

KEEP JOCKING SRANAIA CHURKA, KEEP JOCKING…:
"We are not wolves," LUKOIL President Vagit Alekperov said. "We don't eat the weak."

BP CEO the ghost at the feast as Russia fetes big oil. 2:57pm BST. ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - The leaders of the global oil industry gathered as usual at Russia's top annual business forum this week but there was one ghost at the party. BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research) chief executive Tony Hayward, normally a regular, was conspicuous by his absence this year and his company's woes were a constant topic of discussion among those who did come. Leaving the forum on Friday evening, one BP-connected oil industry executive looked at his watch ruefully. "Hayward is due to testify in 45 minutes," he said, his mind clearly elsewhere. In Washington, Hayward faced the wrath of U.S. lawmakers over BP's failure to stop oil spewing out of a Gulf of Mexico well but the repercussions could be felt in St Petersburg.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev speculated about BP on the eve of the forum, telling the Wall Street Journal that the Kremlin was "not indifferent to their future" and adding: "Hopefully, they can absorb the losses." Oil executives echoed his sentiments. "I think we are all at stake and I do wish BP will survive," Total CEO Christophe de Margerie, told Reuters on the sidelines. "I think we have to do our best in the industry to make sure this will never happen again." In Moscow, it briefly appeared as if the unwinding of BP's empire had begun as a $500 million stake in Rosneft (ROSN.MM: Quote, Profile, Research) changed hands on the local stock exchange, triggering speculation that the British major was disposing of its 1.2 percent stake in Russia's top producer. BP's most senior official at the forum, Russia manager David Peattie, denied the major had begun a fire sale of assets to pay for a $20 billion damage fund ordered by U.S. authorities. "We believe that a powerful company like BP can easily form the fund and asset sales will be minimal, if any," Rosneft CEO Sergei Bogdanchikov told reporters. "Big losses, but it will survive. In theory, a friendly takeover is possible," Russian oil company Gazprom Neft's CEO Alexander Dyukov told Reuters when asked about BP's likely fate. The prospect of a bonanza for BP's rivals held no appeal. "We are not wolves," LUKOIL President Vagit Alekperov said. "We don't eat the weak." The accident is particularly poignant for Russia, the world's largest oil exporter, which earns 60 percent of its tax revenues from hydrocarbons and must find safe ways to develop complex, expensive offshore projects to maintain supply. Russia's top oil official, Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, noted in remarks to a forum audience including the chief executives of ConocoPhillips (COP.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile,Research) and ENI (ENI.MI: Quote, Profile, Research), that the spill could affect key projects such as the giant Shtokman gas field in the Barents Sea. "Every time I think of the accident I break out in a cold sweat," Sechin, a close ally of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, told Reuters later in an interview. "The consequences are so grave and I understand the actions of the U.S. administration, which is focussing its attention on cleanup, but I also sympathise with BP."

Dilma arrives today with the fate of Portugal's Galp agenda. 19/06/10 00:05. The applicant's successor Lula da Silva in Brazil is today with Jose Socrates. Portugal and Brazil continue to weave the mesh that will dictate the future shareholder structure of Galp. After multiple meetings in the recent past, between the Head of State of Brazil, Lula da Silva and Prime Minister Jose Socrates is now the turn of the premiere of a new protagonist in this matter. With general elections to the Brazilian port - are scheduled for October 3 -, Lula da Silva opened the doors of international politics and big business to his potential successor. Rousseff, the Workers Party candidate for president, will be in Lisbon today after a tour of major European capitals. A view marked by encounters not only with José Socrates, as with some national companies, but where the discretion of the agenda is the watchword. The market is given as certain your meeting with businessman Americo Amorim, shareholder in Galp. Information which, however, can not be confirmed until the close of the issue. The Economic Daily knows that among the subjects under discussion will be in addition to the entry of Petrobras Petrobras stake in Galp, the iron arm that Portugal Telecom has with the Spanish Telefónica on monitoring the Brazilian Vivo.

BP chief quits role in oil leak response. By Crooks in London. Published: June 18 2010 21:05 | Last updated: June 18 2010 23:31. Tony Hayward, BP’s embattled chief executive, is stepping back from leading the company’s frontline response to its massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, its chairman said on Friday night. Carl-Henric Svanberg, BP’s chairman, told Sky News that Mr Hayward, who has come under severe criticism in the US as the public face of the company’s response, would now return to London.

Russia expects stagnation. 06/18/2010, 17:02. In the next 2-5 years the Russian financial system waits stagnation, according to 61% of participants in the session "after the Financial Crisis "at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. About 5% expect that in this period in Russia happen crisis. The remaining third of the hoped for rapid growth. The session began with a short video about what shocks the world has undergone a financial system in recent years. Moderator Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum, asked panelists: what is now the world economy - in the post-crisis stage or the beginning of the end of the financial crisis, and what systemic risks. Causes of crisis complexity, and it began with the global imbalances - the lack of monitoring by regulators and the budget deficit, "said Ackerman. Now the main question - whether we live within their means and will not arise if a new crisis, he said. "I do not think that the economy out of crisis, he will continue ", - said Dominique Serutti, deputy chief executive officer of the New York Stock Exchange. In his view, the system remain significant unresolved issues, including the excessive fragmentation of the system. It is difficult to control the financial markets, if they are fragmented, said Serutti, urging colleagues to the legislative cooperation. Now there are two main risks: European sovereign risks and lack of coordination in the regulation of markets, said James Dimon, chairman JPMorgan Chase. In the French economy minister Christine Lagarde, which Schwab called "central to the fire brigade (AND I KNOW WHAT HELL HE’S TALKING ABOUT…), "Schwab asked whether enough of those actions that are taking the banks to stabilize the markets. "Yes and no, - said Lagarde. - Banks need to return to professional activities: to issue loans and take deposits, rather than engage in speculative trade. " "I have no magic wand ", - she said the proposal Schwab restore order in the European house. You never know where there next risk, supported his Lagarde.