Putin in Siberia to visit ruined HPP, start up diamond, oil fields.

MIRNY (Yakutia), August 21 (Itar-Tass) -- Prime Minister Vladimir
Putin arrived in Siberia on Friday to inspect the ruined
Sayano-Shushenskaya hydropower plant, discuss diamond production and start
up a new oil field.
Putin will begin his Siberian trip in Russia's "diamond capital"
Mirny, where he will chair a meeting on the situation in the diamond
industry, which is the main source of revenues of the Republic of Yakutia.
He will also attend the start-up ceremony of a new diamond pit on the Mir
kimberlite pipe, the biggest in Eurasia.
Industrial production in Yakutia fell 6.6 percent in the first half of
2009 because of the economic crisis and the number of unemployed upped to
9.3 percent or 47 thousand people.
Russia's ALROSA diamond company invested 22 billion rubles into the
pit, which is to annually produce a million tons of kimberlite ore. The
reserves are sufficient for 50 years.
At Sayano-Shushenskaya plant in Khakassia Putin will chair a meeting
on energy supplies in Siberia following the accident that shut down the
biggest Russian power facility.
On Thursday President Dmitry Medvedev gave Putin two weeks to report
on the causes of the accident, design measures to liquidate the aftermath,
ensure uninterrupted electricity supplies in the region, and prevent
electricity price hikes. Putin has also to decide on compensations to the
victims of the accident.
RusHydro Company that owns the hydropower plant promised to pay one
million rubles to relatives of the victims, to arrange the funerals, and
provide medical treatment to survivors. Seventeen people were killed and
58 remain missing at the HPP.
The final leg of Putin's Siberian trip will be the start-up of the
Vankorskoe oil and gas field in Krasnoyarsk region. Rosneft state company
that holds the license for the field estimated it will produce over three
million tons of oil this year and 11 million tons in 2010. Proven reserves
comprise 1.5 billion barrels and daily production is projected at 430
thousand barrels. Total investments into the field exceed 230 billion
rubles in 2003-2010.
Oil from the Vankorskoe field is intended both for Europe and Asia,
but will first go to the west until East Siberia - Pacific Ocean pipeline
is built.
Putin will chair a meeting on oil and gas production in Krasnoyarsk
territory and Yamalo-Nenets autonomous district and will focus on Gazprom'
s projects in the areas.
Government experts said "state participation in the process will help
resolve problems of oil quality, utilize major volumes of associated
petroleum gas, decrease capital investments into the development of the
territories and minimize damage to the environment."

.Putin to double bailout to diamond industry, ALROSA.

MIRNY, August 21 (Itar-Tass) -- Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on
Friday the government will more than double bailout to the diamond
industry and will allocate 30-35 billion rubles to buy diamonds to the
state reserve this year. The government will also help ALROSA diamond
producer reschedule debts.
"I believe the support to the industry should comprise 30-35 billion
rubles. It is not easy, but we shall do it," he said at a meeting devoted
to the development of the diamond industry on Friday.
Putin recalled the government had already increased state purchases of
diamonds from 3.7 billion to 14.5 billion rubles.
"I think it is not sufficient. We realize the industry provided major
revenues to the federal and regional budgets and is currently in a
complicated situation" due to the global economic crisis, he said.
"Demand and prices of commodities fell considerably, including
diamonds, which comprise the backbone of Yakutia's economy and provide up
to a third of revenues to its budget," Putin said.
Besides, the prime minister ordered to design a mechanism of state
guarantees to reschedule ALROSA debts to Russian and foreign creditors.
Putin chaired the meeting after attending the start-up ceremony of a
new diamond pit in Yakutia. Congratulating the workers with the first
mined ore the prime minister said the industry was in a difficult
situation because of the global economic crisis.
"There are no doubts the world situation will recover and the market
will revive. Your industry is necessary and I want to say you do not have
to worry," Putin said.
Sales of ALROSA diamond producer fell three-fold in 2009, its
President Fedor Andreyev admitted.
The Mir field has produced diamonds worth over 17 billion dollars
since its start-up in 1955. However Yakutia's President Vyacheslav Shtyrov
said the pit is no longer profitable and ALROSA decided to dig deep
underground. Reserves have been prospected to a depth of up to 900 meters
and are estimated to last for 35 years. ALROSA invested 22 billion rubles
into the new underground pit and the project payback time is estimated at
3.5 years.

.Ilyushin Finance inks prelim deals with LatAmerican airlines.

ZHUKOVSKY, August 21 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian leasing company Ilyushin
Finance has concluded several pre-contract leasing agreements to supply 17
aircraft of various types to Latin American airlines, company's CEO
Alexander Rubtsov told reporters on Thursday.
The agreements were concluded at the MAKS air show in the Moscow
Region city of Zhukovsky.
Ilyushin Finance has signed an agreement of intention to supply to
Brazilian airline Clean Air two Il-96-300 passenger aircraft, four Tu-204
CM passenger aircraft, and two Tu-204 CM-Cargo aircraft.
The leasing company also concluded an agreement to supply to
Ecuadorian airline Icaro two An-148 regional aircraft with an option to
supply a third An-148 aircraft, and two Tu-204 CM-Cargo aircraft with an
option to supply a third Tu-204 CM-Cargo aircraft.
It also concluded an agreement to supply to Peruvian airline Cielos
two Il-96-400T cargo aircraft with an option for one more such aircraft.
Ilyushin Finance plans to conclude final contracts with these airlines
before the end of 2009, Rubtsov said.
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