.ITAR-TASS overnight news cycle for January 15 - 1.

.BP, Rosneft to jointly work on Arctic shelf - Putin.

NOVO-OGARYOVO, January 15 (Itar-Tass) -- BP and Rosneft will jointly
develop oil and gas fields on the Russian Arctic shelf, and investments
into the project will reach tens of billions of dollars, Prime Minister
Vladimir Putin at a meeting with the leadership of the British Petroleum
company.
The resources of oil in question stand at 5 billion tonnes, and those
of gas, at 10 trillion cubic meters," said Putin. "These are serious
figures that need further confirmation, but they are quite realistic and I
hope that these estimated resources will become proven reserves."
He added that "such work would require an investment of tens of
billions of dollars and advanced technologies."
Russia will create a favorable tax regimen for the BP and Rosneft in
their joint development of the Russian Arctic shelf, Putin said.
"The Russian government intends to create the most favorable tax
treatment for this project," he said.
He declared that the BP and Rosneft had achieved "far-reaching
agreements on joint work in offshore projects in Russia and in third
countries."
"I want to inform you that the Russian government supports this joint
work," he continued. This work can acquire a large scale and have a
significant impact on the world oil and gas industry."
Putin said that the Russian side was aware of the fact that these
companies may face some risks. "In this regard, we cannot but welcome the
idea of establishing a special research center for offshore issues," he
said.
Putin also congratulated Rosneft and the BP upon growth in the prices
of their shares.
"BP and Rosneft have started to grow," he said. "I wish to
congratulate you."
About the oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico last year, Putin said:
"There is a good saying - wit once bought is worth twice taught."
"Our experts have scrutinized the tragedy, we know that BP was the
organizer of the project, but there were also eight sub-contractors,
including major U.S. companies," Putin said. "This indicates that
together, we must carefully analyze everything that happens from the
beginning regarding offshore projects," Putin said.
Rosneft is the leader of the Russian oil industry and one of the
largest public oil and gas companies worldwide. The principal activities
of Rosneft are exploration and production of oil and gas, production of
petroleum products and petrochemicals, and marketing of these products.
The company is on the list of strategic enterprises in Russia. Its major
shareholder (75.16 percent of shares) is the company Rosneftegaz, 100
percent state-owned.
Rosneft has 22.9 billion barrels of proven reserves, which is one of
the best indicators among the public oil and gas companies worldwide. By
its reserves of liquid hydrocarbons Rosneft is the undisputed leader. Its
current proven reserves are big enough to last 26 years, and most of its
fields are classified as traditional, which makes it possible to
effectively increase production.
The corporation British Petroleum is one of the largest oil companies
in the world. Currently it is present in more than 100 countries, and its
staff numbers more than 80 thousand. It is headquartered in London.
BP owns refineries and petrochemical enterprises and a network filling
stations, and it produces oil and lubricants. It owns shares in ten
pipelines and five regasification terminals in the North Sea, in a
pipeline in Alaska, as well as in several terminals for liquefied natural
gas in the Gulf of Mexico. Currently, BP produces about 4 million barrels
of oil per day, which is about 5 percent of total global daily production.
In Russia, BP is a co-owner of the oil company TNK-BP on a par with
Russia's Alfa-Access-Renova. TNK-BP, formed in 2003, is one of the leading
oil companies in Russia and among the ten largest private oil companies in
the world in terms of crude oil production. TNK-BP produces 60-70 million
tonnes of oil annually, accounting for 23 percent of the total production
of British Petroleum. "

.Polish Defense Minister critical of Russia's plane crash report.

WARSAW, January 15 (Itar-Tass) -- Polish Defense Minister Bogdan Klich
has made negative comments on the work of the Interstate Aviation
Committee (IAC) to clarify the circumstances of the tragedy near Smolensk.
"I am critical of it (the report), because it is not full," Klikh told
the local media about the final report of the IAC's technical commission
on Friday. He argues that the document contains a number of drawbacks.
"It did not take into account comments made by the Polish side. Poland
has not received a number of materials," he said.
As for statements by the head of the IAC, Tatyana Anodina, at a news
conference on Wednesday, Klich described them as "discrediting the
committee, because they were politically motivated."
The defense minister dismissed as "untrue" the IAC conclusions the
commander of the crew of the Tu-154 plane over the last five months before
the crash had not received any training in difficult weather conditions.
"The crew made regular flights in bad weather," he said.
Nevertheless, the defense minister acknowledged that "mistakes were
made in piloting" the plane and " the procedures signed by me and the HEAD
instruction were violated."
In addition, he stated that as a person directly or indirectly
responsible for the tragedy, he was ready for his possible resignation.
"I am ready to take responsibility for every action," said Klich.

-0-str