Russian ruble could be used in oil trade deals in Iran

[December]

Russian ruble could be used in oil trade deals in Iran

15/ 02/ 2008

MOSCOW, February 15 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian ruble could be used as a payment instrument for deals on an Iranian oil exchange, the Islamic Republic's ambassador to Moscow said on Friday.

"Possibly in the future, we'll be able to use the ruble, Russia's national currency, in our operations," Gholamreza Ansari said, adding that the Islamic Republic was currently busy launching a new oil trade exchange.

The Islamic Republic's oil minister, Gholam-Hossein Nozari, earlier said that Iran would launch on February 27 a commodities exchange for oil, petrochemicals and natural gas on the Persian Gulf island of Kish and that all financial settlements would be made in Iran's national currency, the rial.

http://en.rian.ru/world/20080215/99314908.html

http://iarnoticias.com/images/personajes/5_putin_pres_iran.jpg


Russia to dump waning dollar

http://www.presstv.ir/photo/20071214/etesami20071214225130937.JPG

Russian oil firm Rosneft will follow the lead of Gazprom and LUKOIL to sell crude in rubles amid the ongoing depreciation of the dollar.

"Our specialists are looking at all possibilities that could be beneficial for the company," Rosneft Spokesman Nikolai Manvelov said. "Everything depends on economic viability."

Russia's largest independent oil producer, LUKOIL earlier announced that the company will switch to the ruble in its gas and crude deals within two years.

"Selling for rubles is much more attractive," Deputy Chief Executive Officer Leonid Fedun said on December 12. "Gazprom is considering introducing ruble-denominated contracts and I think that technically Russian companies can do it by 2009 if the banks are ready."

“We consider the idea of selling our resources for rubles to be quite possible,� Gazprom's Vice President Alexander Medvedev said at a recent conference in New York.
Last month, Iran and Venezuela proposed to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to switch to a basket of currencies in its oil deals.
Iran, the world's fourth most prolific oil exporter, has already abandoned the dollar, Iran's Oil Minister Gholam-Hossein Nozari said on December 9, describing the currency as unreliable.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=34978&sectionid=3510213


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BANK OF RUSSIA - http://www.cbr.ru/eng

[December]

Russia's Gazprom reaches agreement on crude production in Iran
19/ 02/ 2008

MOSCOW, February 19 (RIA Novosti) - Gazprom has reached a deal with Iranian authorities for its crude producing arm to be involved in oil production in the Islamic Republic, the Russian energy giant said Tuesday.

"The parties have agreed to jointly develop two or three sites on the South Pars gas field and for Gazprom Neft to participate in a crude-producing project in Iran," Gazprom said.
"Prospecting and development of gas and oil fields, joint operations in transporting, processing and marketing of gas were named as the key areas for interaction," Gazprom said.

Gazprom has been taking part in developing the South Pars field's second and third stages together with France's TotalElf and Malaysia's Petronas. The facility is operating in design mode to produce and process 20 billion cu m of gas annually.

READ MORE - http://en.rian.ru/business/20080219/99634680.html

[December]

Iran Opens Oil Bourse to Sidestep U.S. Sanctions
By Jason Simpkins

Iran opened an exchange for crude and petrochemicals Sunday, an effort that encourages private investment in the nation’s prominent energy sector.
"The bourse provides an economic opportunity for Iranians, other countries, and foreign customers," Iranian Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari said in a statement.

The primary trade currency used by the bourse will be the euro, thereby establishing a euro-based oil marker if successful. Iran first floated the idea of trading oil in euros several years ago, but a weak dollar has breathed new life into the concept.
Iran has also registered for another oil bourse, in which it intends to trade crude contracts in euros instead of dollars with the hope of reducing U.S. influence in the country’s economy.

READ MORE - http://www.moneymorning.com/2008/02/19/iran-opens-oil-bourse-to-sidestep-us-sanctions

[December]

Qatar may break riyal-dollar link
Mon, 10 Mar 2008

In a bid to rein in inflation Qatar is mulling over dropping riyal's peg to the US dollar as the greenback continues to lose value.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al-Thani said that his government is studying de-pegging the country's national currency from the dollar although making decision on the matter would not be easy.
The Qatari prime minister expressed hope that the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council member states would adopt a unified stance on the matter.
Earlier in January Sheikh Hamad said that the oil-rich Persian Gulf littoral state would shift away the Qatari riyal from the US currency over the next six months.
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=46852&sectionid=3510213

[December]

June 7, 2008

Gas will be sold in roubles: Gazprom CEO

http://russiatoday.ru/media/news/b/484a8dfd76507.jpg

http://www.gazprom.com



Gazprom aspires to sell gas for roubles outside of Russia after trade on the St. Petersburg bourse starts, the head of the oil, giant Alexey Miller, has said. Its launch is planned for 2009.
According to Miller, the company has started the creation of the bourse to trade gas futures.

Miller has said St. Petersburg will soon become a major gas trade centre.

However, the finance minister Alexey Kudrin told Russian broadcasting station “Business FM” that raw materials will be sold for roubles but in a long-time perspective.
He said roubles has become a convertible currency only 18 months ago and dozens of years must pass until roubles will be stable enough for all of the market participants.

The source in Gazprom which spoke to Interfax news agency said several changes must occur before large-scale gas trades happen on the exchange. These are: the internal and external gas prices approach, Nord and South Stream pipelines launch, facilities and resources allocation for spot deals, creation of plant to liquefy natural gas in Kola Peninsula, customs rules formulization and the supplies of gas acquired on the bourse through the sole agent.

http://russiatoday.ru/business/news/25916

[December]

U.S. dollar hits 9-year low against Russian ruble

12/ 07/ 2008

MOSCOW, July 12 (RIA Novosti) - The U.S. dollar sank to its lowest point against the Russian ruble since 1999 at the end of this week's trade on the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MICEX).

The dollar fell by 10 kopeks during Friday's trade to reach 23.305 rubles, the lowest level since March 1999.

The dollar fell sharply against the euro and the British pound on Friday amid fears that the two largest U.S. mortgage providers - the Federal National Mortgage Association (known as Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) - will need a government bail-out.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20080712/113833370.html

[Pookie]

****Yawn*** Wake me up when this happens. Russia is always putting stuff like this out, and I seriously doubt the ruble will figure very importantly as these posts indicates.
Give it time, and we will see. We'll be watching for this.
Purrs,
Pookie