Putin and Tyumenneft's Kukes attend signing of TNK-Eximbank loan

While in New York for the United Nations' Millennium Summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin attended a ceremony marking the signing of an agreement for the release of $ 292 mm worth of loan guarantees to a Russian oil company.
The September 9 ceremony was also attended by Semyon Kukes, president of Tyumenneft (TNK), the company that stands to benefit from the deal. Kukes said he was pleased that Putin was present at the signing, saying that the president's actions should serve to show foreign investors that Russia is seeking partners.
The guarantees will cover 85 % of a $ 333.5 mm credit package that is being extended to TNK by Germany's Commerzbank. The Russian company plans to use the Commerzbank funds to purchase equipment and services from Halliburton, the US oil field services giant. TNK wants to install the US-made equipment at Samotlor, the biggest producing oil field in western Siberia.
Samotlor is currently yielding about 350,000 bpd of crude. However, infrastructure at the field, which has been subjected to intensive development for more than 20 years, is deteriorating, and oil output has flagged in recent years.

Commerzbank is also set to issue an additional $ 338.5 mm worth of credits for other TNK projects, including efforts to upgrade the Ryazan oil refinery. The US Eximbank will soon to issue a $ 198 mm guarantee towards the loan funds that will be used to buy US-made equipment from ABB Lummus Global for installation at the Ryazan refinery. In total, Commerzbank is planning to make $ 672 mm in credit available to TNK.
The ExImbank's loan guarantees were blocked last December, largely due to questions about TNK's role in the bankruptcy suits surrounding Sidanko, another Russian oil company. However, the credits the largest ever granted to a Russian company, were unfrozen several months later following a review of TNK's case.