EC not to obstruct Opel sale to Magna International.

LONDON, October 21 (Itar-Tass) - The European Commission does not
intend to obstruct the sale of Opel to the Canadian consortium Magna
International and Russia's Sberbank (Savings Bank), a European Commission spokesperson said on Tuesday.

Several days earlier, European Commissioner for Competition Neelie
Kroes said that she had "questions" linked with the prepared sale to
General Motors of its European branch that includes Opel, to the Canadian
consortium.
The European Commission has not intention to attempt to block the
deal, Jonathan Todd of the Competition Commission stated. He also stressed
that its only goal is to control the compliance of the loans provided by
the state for support of private companies with the EU rules in the
competition sphere.
The German government earlier said that it would grant Opel a 4.5
billion euro credit, if Magna International buys the automaker. However,
Berlin made an explanation earlier this week that this loan will be
provided also to an alternative company if it buys Opel.
Todd also said that the Opel sale deal will be apparently signed this
week.
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.Ukraine govt forcing country into shadow loan schemes-official.

KIEV, October 21 (Itar-Tass) - Negotiations with international
financial institutions on the provision of a loan to the state company
Naftogaz Ukrainy (Oil and Gas of Ukraine) have been suspended, Ukrainian
president's special representative for international energy security
issues Bogdan Sokolovsky said on Channel Five television on Tuesday
evening.
He also noted that restructuring of Naftogaz's debts "is a forced
decision." "It is only putting of the debts payment for tomorrow and the
day after tomorrow," believes Sokolovsky.
He also said that according to the financial plan of Naftogaz, the
deficit of its budget for 2009 runs at 33 billion hryvnas (some 4 billion
US dollars). "This is a catastrophic figure. The problem of Naftogaz is a
problem of Ukraine," Sokolovsky stated.
According to him, the "reform of the natural gas sector was one of
prerequisites when the European Commission and international financial
institutions in late July agreed to provide to Ukraine beneficial loans in
the volume of 1.7 billion US dollars." "Unfortunately, the delay with
reforms and double play at the government level have caused suspension of
negotiations with international financial institutions," Sokolovsky noted.
"Taking into account some talks behind the scenes between the
government's leadership, this may result in a situation in which Ukraine
is being forced into some shadow loan schemes," the presidential
representative stated.
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.Newly elected Moscow Duma to hold first meeting.

MOSCOW, October 21 (Itar-Tass) - The newly elected fifth Moscow City
Duma (legislature) will hold its first meeting on Wednesday. The meeting
will be preceded by a solemn oath taking ceremony by deputies that will
begin at the Peter the Great's Putevoi (Road) Palace in Leningrad Avenue
at 10:00, Moscow time.
The Duma meeting will be held at the building in Petrovka Street at
14:30. The oldest in age lawmaker Anatoly Petrov, 72, will open the
meeting. He, former deputy Moscow mayor and mayor's representative in the
Moscow City Duma, has for the first time been elected to the city
parliament.
The deputies are to elect the Duma chairman and his deputies. Earlier
this week, the Presidium of the General Council of the United Russia party
proposed to again nominate Vladimir Platonov for the speaker's post and
Andrei Metelsky - his deputy.
However, chairman of the organising committee of the first meeting
Alexander Krutov said that ahead of the election of the leaders the
deputies intend to introduce amendment to the Duma rules of procedure.
Krutov explained that according to the existing rules, the candidature of
the speaker can be nominated by a group of deputies consisting of at least
five members. "As the Communist faction includes three persons, the
organising committee will put forward a proposal to nominate the
candidature from the faction," Krutov said.
The Moscow legislature members will also determine on Wednesday the
Duma structure - a list of its commissions. Besides, they will determine
the personal membership of some of them. Alexander Krutov explained that
it is necessary to do this, because "it is necessary to settle questions
linked with the adoption of the budget and other urgent laws."
The fifth Moscow City Duma was elected on October 11, 2009. It is
composed of two factions - United Russia (32 deputies) and Communist Party
of the Russian Federation (CPRF) - 3 deputies.
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.Main portion of gas from Shtokman field to go to US market.

LONDON, October 21 (Itar-Tass) - The main portion of natural gas from
the Shtokman offshore field in the Barents Sea will go to the US energy
market, head of Gazprom Marketing and Trading USA in Houston, Texas John
Hattenberger has said.
He told the Bloomberg American business news agency on Tuesday that
from 80 to 90 percent of gas from the Shtokman field will be directed to
the United States.
According to Bloomberg, OAO Gazprom, the world's biggest natural-gas
producer, plans to ship 80 to 90 percent of the fuel from its Shtokman
project in the Arctic to North America as recovery of the world's largest
economy spurs energy use.
The Moscow-based company plans to sign 20-year contracts in 2010's
first half to use gas-import terminals on the US Gulf and East coasts,
said John Hattenberger, head of Gazprom's energy-trading unit in Houston.
Shtokman will produce an estimated 1 billion cubic feet of liquefied
natural gas a day starting in 2014, followed by an additional 2 billion
cubic feet a day in about 2016 and 1 billion cubic feet in 2018, he said.
"North America would be a key target market," Hattenberger, president
of Gazprom Marketing & Trading USA Inc., said in an interview at Bloomberg'
s Houston bureau (Oct 20). "If you take a long-term view of this, all the
signals are there that say we need more gas."
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