US Eximbank to ensure credit guarantees to Russian LUKoil, Yukos and Sibneft companies

An agreement has been reached between US EXIMBANK and three Russian oil companies, LUKoil, Yukos and Sibneft, on signing a memorandum on mutual understanding any time soon. This information appeared on the first day of the work of the Russian-US business energy forum in Houston (the state of Texas).

RIA Novosti reports that in compliance with this document EXIMBANK will guarantee mid-term and long-term credits to be given by the US commercial banks to each of the three Russian companies to the tune of up to $100 million. The credits will be used for purchasing equipment in the USA and paying for contracts with the US firms.

This step stems from the energy strategy of president Bush, aimed at diversification of oil and other energy sources deliveries by way of strengthening global alliances and international ties, stressed vice-chairman of EXIMBANK board Eduardo Aguirre. According to him, Russia possesses 5 percent of confirmed world reserves of oil and 33 percent of world reserves of natural gas. But to further explore these resources the infrastructure should be tangibly developed, and credit guarantees on the part of EXIMBANK serve precisely this purpose.

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&to=http://www.eximbank.hu/Internet/Introduction.asp' target=_blank>EXIMBANK

&to=http://www.lukoil.com' target=_blank>LUKoil

&to=http://www.yukos.com/main.asp' target=_blank>YUKOS

&to=http://www.sibneft.ru/index.shtml' target=_blank>SIBNEFT