Russia, the world's second-largest oil exporter, faces export bottlenecks as state pipelines struggle to cope with fast-rising production, currently 8MMbrl/d, and set to rise by at least 20% in the next few years. "I cannot see a single economic reason why things should not work here as they have everywhere else over the last century," Illarionov told reporters after a meeting with Saudi oil minister Ali al-Naimi. Referring to Russia's privatization of its state power monopoly, Unified Energy Systems, into smaller generating companies, he said there should be no more of a monopoly in the pipeline business than in the electricity business. "A monopoly corrupts, and an absolute monopoly corrupts absolutely," he said. The Russian government has delayed finalizing its decision on a pipeline project to carry its crude to the east until May. The country's second-largest oil firm, Yukos, hopes to build a 600,000bpd oil pipeline from Western and Eastern Siberia to Dacin in NE China by 2005, and the country's pipeline monopoly, Transneft, has put forward a rival offer and aims to construct a pipeline to the Pacific port of Nakhodka by 2007.
Basket is empty.
