By John Helmer in Moscow

Russia’s dominant diamond miner, state-owned Alrosa, has grabbed the crown from De Beers as the world’s largest diamond producer – and most profitable one, too.

According to a press release, reporting what was said at the executive board meeting of Alrosa in Mirny, early this week, a draft annual report for last year was recommended for approval by the Supervisory Board, as Alrosa’s board of directors is known. Since the board has yet to meet and vote its approval, no report has been issued yet. However, the company release claims this report contains an aggregate diamond sales result for 2009 of $2,212.6 million. If this includes sales of polished, as well as rough, then it marks a decline of 5.3% on 2008. when Alrosa reports selling $157.6 million worth of polished, and $2,178.8 million of rough.
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by John Helmer - Friday, March 19th, 2010
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By John Helmer in Moscow

The US federal district court judge hearing the multi-billion dollar damage claim by Archangel Diamond Corporation (ADC) against LUKoil has been replaced this week in Colorado, after an ADC shareholder discovered that the judge, Christine Arguello, had once worked for a law firm which has been associated with LUKoil.
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by John Helmer - Thursday, March 18th, 2010
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We interrupt this news bulletin to bring
you a broadcast from Captain Obvious
on location live above the Kremlin
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by John Helmer - Thursday, March 18th, 2010
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By John Helmer in Moscow

The chief executive of Russia’s pipeline company Transneft, Nikolay Tokarev (left), has told Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin that there is not enough Russian crude oil to make commercially feasible the proposed trans-Balkan pipeline to a new tanker terminal at Alexandroupoli. Tokarev’s opinion, conveyed privately last September, appears to have encouraged Sechin to announce the following month that he, Russia’s chief decision-maker for oil, gas and the energy sector, favours replacing the trans-Balkan pipeline route between Burgas, Bulgaria, and Alexandroupoli, Greece, in favour of a much bigger-capacity pipeline delivering Russian crude from the Turkish Black Sea port of Samsun, across land, to Ceyhan, the Turkish tanker terminal on the Aegean.
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by John Helmer - Wednesday, March 17th, 2010
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By John Helmer in Moscow

Banking sources in Moscow are reporting that the sale of the Lucchini assets of the Severstal group, controlled by Alexei Mordashov, is not imminent.

According to the sources, a precondition of the transaction is a refinancing or renegotiation of the terms of Lucchini’s current debts, estimated to be about €800 million. Severstal has confirmed it is discussing the Lucchini sale to several interested buyers, including Metinvest of the Ukraine. Tata Steel (India), Baosteel (China), Gruppo Riva (Italy), and ArcelorMittal (Euro-India) have also been reported as interested to bid. Baosteel, Metinvest and Gruppo Riva are viewed in Moscow as having the most free cash to spend to pay the Severstal asking price.
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by John Helmer - Tuesday, March 16th, 2010
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By John Helmer in Moscow

Alrosa has signed a series of three contracts worth a total of $490 million at current diamond values with three Indian cutters, traditionally Alrosa’s largest clients in India. But industry sources in Moscow say they are concerned to find out whether the announcement presages a much larger flow of Russian midsize rough to India, with less available to Russian cutters.
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by John Helmer - Monday, March 15th, 2010
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By John Helmer in Moscow

Sovcomflot, the global tanker group run by Sergei Frank (left) and Russian government officials, received a negative rating report from the Moody’s international rating agency this week, as proceedings in the company’s half-billion-dollar claim against the former management wind up in the UK High Court in London. According to Moody’s latest report, Sovcomflot’s outlook has been changed from stable to negative.

Closing submissions from lawyers for the shipping company and for Dmitry Skarga, the former CEO (right), and charterer Yury Nikitin, reach the High Court in London this week, and oral argument will be concluded by March 31. Justice Andrew Smith is expected to rule by July. If Sovcomflot loses, it may face an order to pay defendant costs and penalties of more than $50 million, plus legal costs of its own, which are believed to be even greater.
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by John Helmer - Sunday, March 14th, 2010
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By John Helmer in Moscow

The Chelyabinsk prosecutor has opened a criminal investigation into a lethal explosion this week at a coke battery of the Mechel group in Chelyabinsk. One worker at the battery was killed immediately, and three others are in serious condition in hospital after the blast, which occurred, according to a company statement, on Thursday morning, at coke shop number 2 of Mechel-Coke. A search by Emergency Ministry specialists continues today for others who may have been killed in the explosion, and remain unrecognizable in the rubble.
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by John Helmer - Friday, March 12th, 2010
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By John Helmer in Moscow

The state diamond stockpile agency, Gokhran, will not be purchasing as many Alrosa rough diamonds this year as had been expected and budgeted for, according to a brief statement by the Gokhran head, Vladimir Rybkin. But before Gokhran sells any of its new stocks, Rybkin said the state agency will have to re-value the Alrosa rough.
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by John Helmer - Friday, March 12th, 2010
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On February 24, 2010, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was critical of Mikhail Prokhorov for failing to meet his investment obligations in the electricity generating sector.
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by John Helmer - Wednesday, March 10th, 2010
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