Gazprom eyes Alaskan pipeline

Gazprom has unveiled an ambitious plan to build a pipeline to carry natural gas from Alaska to other parts of the United States. The company’s CEO Alexey Miller used St. Petersburg’s International Economic Forum to announce that it had approached BP and C

The chiefs of both Shell and BP have expressed an interest in growing their business.

“Investment in Russia is needed, but it’s very interesting – the best possible way to go forward is to work with partnerships,” Shell CEO Jeroen van der Veer said.

Analysts are also watching closely for news of changes to the tax system affecting energy firms.

Other St. Pete deals

The 12th Internional Economic Forum in Saint Petersburg has been a hive of activity, with dozens of companies making major announcements.

Russia's Severstal Auto is to set up two joint ventures with Italy's Fiat – one will make Fiat Linea cars and the other will produce diesel engines. The launch of the project is planned for the end of this year. Both enterprises will be structured as 50-50 entities.

Luxemborg-based steel producer Arcelor Mittal will build its first plant in Russia in the region of Tver. Construction is to start in September 2009 and is planned to be completed within one year.

Mittal controls 10% of 10 steel-making production all over the world.

Russian AFK Sistema is planning to step into the Singapore market within one or two months.

Russia’s second largest mobile operator Beeline intends to expand into the Asian market. The company has signed an agreement with the Vietnamese government for a mobile venture to begin rendering services by the end of 2008.