All Oil Pipelines Under Construction in Russia to Remain State Property

All oil pipelines under construction in Russia would remain state property, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov said during his visit to Murmansk (a port on the Barents Sea in the north of the European part of Russia).

In particular, Mikhail Kasyanov spoke about a construction project of "Western Siberia-Murmansk" oil pipeline. Four Russian oil giants YUKOS, "Tumen Oil Company", LUKOIL and "Sibneft" signed a memorandum of their joint activities in its construction in November 2002.

According to the Russian prime minister, there is no contradiction between the state's monopoly on oil pipelines and participation of non-state capital in their construction. Companies-owners of crude oil are charged for transportation of hydrocarbons through state owned pipelines. Investors' participation in the construction of new oil pipelines will be taken into account and they will have more favorable tariffs for gas and oil transportation, Mikhail Kasyanov said.