Gazprom Postpones Sale of Bonds, Fitch Withdraws Credit Ratings on Debt

(Bloomberg) -- OAO Gazprom, Russia's natural-gas
monopoly, postponed a planned sale of bonds prompting Fitch
Ratings to withdraw assigned grades for the debt.

More than 50 companies from U.S. carmaker Chrysler to
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.'s Alliance Boots Plc postponed or
reworked debt sales since mid-June as investors shun riskier
assets amid concern that U.S. subprime mortgage-related losses
will spill into other parts of the debt markets.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Emerging Market Stocks Post Weekly Gain, Advance to Record on Rate Outlook

(Bloomberg) -- Emerging market stocks rose, heading
for their biggest weekly gain since March, as a U.S. inflation
report eased concern that higher U.S. interest rates would decrease
the allure of the riskier equities.

OAO Gazprom, the world's largest natural gas producer, paced
the gains after oil prices hit a nine month high yesterday.
Petroleo Brasileiro SA, Brazil's state-controlled oil company,
surged to a new high. The Morgan Stanley International Index of
emerging market shares rose to a record for a second day.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Gazprom says on brink of UK deal

(Reuters) - Russian gas giant Gazprom is close to closing a deal to increase its market presence in Britain, Deputy Chief Executive Alexander Medvedev said on Sunday.

"In the near future there will a deal to further increase the customer base on the British market," he told reporters at an economic forum in St Petersburg, without giving details.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Stocks in Russia Decline for Second Day, Led by Gazprom, Norilsk Nickel

(Bloomberg) -- Russian stocks declined for a second
day, led by OAO Gazprom and OAO GMK Norilsk Nickel.

The ruble-denominated Micex Index sank 0.4 percent to
1601.43 at 1:26 p.m. in Moscow. Six stocks advanced and 24
retreated. The dollar-denominated RTS Index dropped 0.4 percent
to 1815.70.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Gazprom May Thwart Putin Drive for Russian Dominance in Gas, Oil Output

(Bloomberg) -- Four corporate heavyweights are arrayed
before Russian President Vladimir Putin in his Kremlin office. Sitting
across a white oval table from Putin are Shoei Utsuda and Yorihiko
Kojima, chief executive officers of Japan's largest trading companies,
Mitsui & Co. and Mitsubishi Corp.; Jeroen van der Veer, head of Royal
Dutch Shell Plc, Europe's biggest oil producer; and Putin's old
friend, OAO Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller. The purpose of the Dec. 21,
2006, confab: to seal a deal made earlier that day in which
Gazprom, the giant state-run gas company, will take control of
Sakhalin-2, a $22 billion oil and gas project on Sakhalin Island in
the Russian Far East.

Van der Veer and the Japanese executives make a show of
endorsing Gazprom's participation in Sakhalin-2, until now the
biggest totally foreign-owned energy venture in Russia. ``Thank you
very much for your support on this historic day,'' van der Veer
says to Putin in remarks captured on camera and posted on the
Kremlin's Web site. ``Gazprom is very welcome as a partner in our
project.''


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

Russian Stocks Erase Advance; Gazprom, Lukoil and Surgut Shares Decline

(Bloomberg) -- Russian stocks pared earlier gains as
OAO Gazprom, OAO Lukoil and OAO Surgutneftegaz declined.

The ruble-denominated Micex Index sank 0.2 percent to
1578.98 rubles at 11:39 a.m. in Moscow. The dollar-denominated
RTS Index dropped 0.4 percent to 1788.03.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Lukoil Agrees to Help Gazprom Develop Oil Production Business in Russia

(Bloomberg) -- OAO Lukoil agreed to help Russia's
state-run OAO Gazprom, the world's biggest natural-gas company,
develop its oil business by forming a joint venture to tap
fields from the Arctic to the Caspian Sea.

Vagit Alekperov, Lukoil's billionaire chief executive
officer, and OAO Gazprom Neft CEO Alexander Dyukov signed an
accord in Moscow today that calls for the venture to be up and
running within 90 days. Gazprom will own 51 percent of the
venture, though operational control will be split evenly.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News