RUSSIA - Profile - Artur Chilingarov

A deputy speaker of the Duma, Chilingarov is in charge of the legislative aspects of the hydrocarbon sector and the allocation of oil and gas fields for PSAs. He speaks at international conferences and is to give a keynote address at a Gazprom seminar to be held in Moscow on Oct. 6-7, 1998. Alexei Y. Mikhailov chairs the Duma's Natural Resources and Subsoil Committee, which has seven subcommittees on: land resources, regional aspects of nature use and ecology, headed by V.P. Zvolinsky; biological and forestry resources, headed by V.M. Zelenin; water and fishery resources, headed by E.A. Bolshakov; national parks and reservations, headed by A.T. Morozov who also has the natural resources investment subcommittee; and precious metals and stones, headed by V.S. Savchuk.

Among the Russian companies, Gazprom gained most from Chernomyrdin's return to the premiership on Aug. 23, 1998. On the following day, shares in the huge Russian gas monopoly rose almost 22%. Gazprom's management was elated by the development. By far the largest group in the federation, Gazprom is the biggest gas company in the world with huge exports to Europe and plans to export to the Far East. The government owns 40.87% in Gazprom. After the Kiriyenko government allowed a de facto devaluation of the rouble on Aug. 17, the privatisation ministry decided to suspend plans to sell a 5.87% stake in the company to private investors. Money from the sale was to go to the government to pay long-overdue wages and debt arrears.

Gazprom has some cushion against the de facto devaluation as only about a third of its gas production is sold abroad while the costs of its huge Russian operations are rouble-denominated. Of its ex-Russia sales, fellow CIS members account for 14% and the rest goes to Europe.