Medvedev says Russia will find alternative to European, US oil and gas equipment

MOSCOW, October 15. /TASS/. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday Russia will be able to find an alternative to gas and oil equipment from Europe and the United States to fulfill the country’s largest energy projects. In the interview with the CNBC TV channel, Medvedev said Russia is not willing to destroy its relations with Western partners, which have recently slapped several rounds of sanctions on Moscow over the Ukrainian crisis. “Not at all. But we need to implement our projects, including offshore projects, and to develop gas fields. As such, we’ll have to reorient towards other producers,” Medvedev said. Medvedev said after the sanctions were introduced, Russia’s largest energy companies started talks with equipment producers in other regions, including China, which produces equipment for energy companies, including pipe-layers and other complicated systems. “Of course, we can achieve our goals in cooperation with them [Chinese partners]. But the question is, who is this hurting? I think the country that gets these contracts will definitely gain,” Medvedev said. “Again, this is not a political choice. If you are referring to the current situation, which we did not provoke in the first place, we had to take certain decisions. For example, when our largest energy companies are told: “Sorry guys, we won’t supply anything to you because of the sanctions,” we interpret this as a serious signal,” Medvedev explained. Russia came under Western punitive measures, originally visa bans and asset freezes, for incorporation of Crimea in mid-March after a coup in Ukraine in February. Later, Western claims that Russia is taking part in hostilities in southeast Ukraine, which Moscow has repeatedly denied, resulted in more serious, sectoral, restrictions. In particular, the sanctions target five Russian energy companies - Gazprom, Gazprom Neft, Lukoil, Surgutneftegaz and Rosneft. The sanctions banned the supplies to them of products, services and technology needed for deepwater offshore oil drilling, development of the Arctic oilfields or shale oil extraction. Read related news on itar-tass.com