APEC, a Russian Agency for Political and Economic Communications has prepared a rating of the impact of entrepreneurs and top managers of the Russian energy industry for the month of February. The places in the top 10 were as follows: Igor Sechin (1), Alexei Miller (2), Vagit Alekperov (3), Gennady Timchenko (4), Nikolai Tokarev (5), Alexander Medvedev (6), Oleg Deripaska (7), Sergei Kiriyenko (8), Vladimir Bogdanov (9), and Leonid Michelson (10). The calculation of the rating to determine the influence of senior business leaders and managers of the fuel and energy sector was done through a survey of industry experts, which included 25 renowned economists, politicians, investment and industry analysts, as well as economic journalists. The evaluation was conducted among 84 candidates representing the nuclear, the oil and gas, the coal, the petroleum refining, and the electricity generation industry. All experts were asked the following question: “How would you rate on a scale of one to 10 the political and lobbying influence on the government of Russia, the presidential administration, the Federal Assembly, as well as the professional influence in the business community of these entrepreneurs and top managers from the fuel and energy sector of Russia?” First, each of the experts assessed the impact of each of the candidates. Then, the survey analysts identified the peer review grade point average. The final rating is a consolidated assessment of the impact of 50 large employers and top managers in the energy sector.

The participants in the study of APEC included Alexander Darmin, chief editor of the TopNeftegaz.Ru portal, Anna Annenkova, a senior analyst at IC Barrel, Viktor Ryabov, president of the Association of Refiners and Petrochemical Producers, Vitaly Kryukov, analyst at IG Capital, Vladimir Fedortsov, principal analyst at VTB Bank; Grant Margulov, president of the International Fuel and Energy Association, Denis Borisov, analyst at NOMOS-BANK, Dmitry Alexandrov, head of the analytical section at IG Univer-Capital, Dmitry Orlov, Director General at the Agency for Political and Economic Communications, Igor Nikolayev, director of strategic analysis at the FBK audit and consulting company, Iosif Diskin, co-chairman of the Council for National Strategy, Mansur Gazeev, president of the association for the Development of Russian Energy, Victor Markov, senior analyst at the Capital Management Company, Mikhail Bakulev, analyst at Advanced Research LLP, Nikita Maslennikov, adviser to the Institute of Contemporary Development, Alexander Razuvaev, head of the analytical department at Alpari, Elijah Frost, Director General of Solid Commodity Markets, Yuri Alexandrov, chief researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies, Yuri Ryabchenyuk, scientific director of the National Institute of Competitiveness, Yakov Pappe, senior researcher at the Institute of Economic Forecasting, as well as other experts.

Dmitry Orlov, general director of the Agency for Political and Economic Communications, offered more detailed comments as to the energy entrepreneurs and executives ranking for February 2013.

Gazprom

The chairman of Gazprom Alexei Miller, one of the permanent leaders of the top executive ranking, approved a comprehensive plan to optimize the company’s expenses for 2013. In particular, in 2013, Gazprom will continue constraining price increases for purchased goods and services. In view of the fact that the main cost item in the investment program of Gazprom for many years has been the expense of gas transmission, the company will continue collaborating with the manufacturers of pipes on long-term contracts using a pricing formula. In approving the plan to optimize costs, Alexei Miller noted that the measures were bound to save the company almost 50 billion roubles in 2013. Cost optimization is important for Gazprom now. As the head of the Audit Chamber Sergei Stepashin said, the company should expect comprehensive inspections and audits in 2013. Gazprom has been repeatedly criticized because of excessive capital expenditures, which in the last three years were always revised upwards toward the end of the reporting period. Gazprom continues the active implementation of the South Stream project. In January, the company’s delegation headed by Alexei Miller visited Croatia. With the reduction in the supply of Russian gas to the European market, it is important for Gazprom to increase the volume of exports. This can be done through the construction of a gas lateral to Croatia. During the visit, the sides also discussed prospects for the construction of power generation facilities in the country that would be fueled by natural gas, as well as the possible participation of Gazprom in exploration and production projects in Croatia.

The vice chairman of the board of Gazprom Alexander Medvedev (6) saw his ranking go up this month, as did company managers Vitaly Markelov (14) and Valery Golubev (19). Gazprom Neft is considering the purchase of new processing and marketing assets in Greece and Germany. Alexander Dyukov (11), the company’s CEO, stated that the strategic objective of achieving a target refining capacity was reached in Russia, and now the company plans to expand its presence abroad. In turn, the acquisition of refineries in Europe will allow Gazprom Neft to reduce the transportation costs of raw materials for processing from the Elephant field in Libya.

Lukoil

At the latest meeting of the Board of Directors of Lukoil, preliminary results of the company for 2012 were announced. Last year, Lukoil managed to stabilize oil production in West Siberia and the Timan-Pechora region. In 2013, the company plans to carry out plans for seismic prospecting, exploration, improvement, implementation, and commissioning of new priority projects in West Africa and the North Caspian Sea, including at the Bolypehetskoy field and the Filanovskiy field. Mr. Alekperov said that by 2021, the company plans to invest in its existing projects on the continental shelf some 325 billion roubles. At the same time, Lukoil had to revise its plans as to the West Qurna-2 project upon the Iraqi government’s request. As part of an additional agreement, the contract for the development and production of oil in the field was amended. The parties agreed to reduce the target production level of the project from 1.8 million to 1.2 million barrels of oil per day, as well as to extend the period for maintaining target production levels from 13 to 19.5 years. The duration of the contract was increased from 20 to 25 years. The reduction plan is bound to have an adverse impact on Lukoil’s profit, though the extension of the contract for work in Iraq is an advantageous development for the company. Top managers of Lukoil traditionally command tremendous influence in the industry. Among these in the current rating are Leonid Fedun (13), Sergei Kukura (16), Ravil Maganov (21), Azat Shamsuarov (32), and Vladimir Nekrasov (38).

Rosneft

The head of Rosneft Igor Sechin (1) stated that the company’s oil production was 215 million tons in 2013. The merger of assets with TNK-BP by the end of the year will nearly double the performance of Rosneft. Greater production will lead to increased revenues and market capitalization. In addition, Rosneft will buy TNK-BP Petromonagas, a joint venture of TNK-BP and the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA. The Orinoco Belt in Venezuela is one of the regions with the world’s largest reserves of heavy and extra-heavy oil. Rosneft already has assets in that area, including those at the Junin-6 and the Carabobo-2 blocks. Thus, after the merger of assets of Rosneft and TNK-BP in Venezuela, it will be possible to obtain significant benefits from the companies’ synergies in the joint development of petroleum fields. The ex-president of Rosneft Eduard Khudainatov (18) also maintains a strong position in the ranking.