[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 135 (Tuesday, July 15, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41780-41782]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-17807]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


Secretarial Oil and Gas Business Development Mission to Russia

AGENCY: Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice to announce Secretary Evans--Oil and Gas Business 
Development Mission to Russia, September 21-25, 2003.

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SUMMARY: Secretary of Commerce Donald L. Evans will lead a senior-level 
business development mission to St. Petersburg and Moscow, Russia from 
September 21-25, 2003. The focus of the mission will be to assist U.S. 
businesses to explore trade and investment opportunities in the oil and 
gas sector including exploration and production, equipment and 
services, and transportation. The delegation will include approximately 
15 U.S. based senior executives of small, medium and large sized U.S. 
firms. The mission will reaffirm U.S. Government support of U.S.-
Russian cooperation in the energy sector and seek to expand 
opportunities for U.S. companies. Members will participate in the U.S.-
Russia Commercial Energy Summit in St. Petersburg on September 22-23, 
and will participate in additional meetings in Moscow on September 24-
25.

DATES: Applications should be submitted to the Office of Business 
Liaison by August 8, 2003. Applications received after that date will 
be considered only if space and scheduling constraints permit.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Office of Business Liaison; Room 5062; 
Department of Commerce; Washington, DC 20230; Tel: (202) 482-1360; Fax: 
(202) 482-4054.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Secretarial Oil and Gas Business Development Mission to Russia

September 21-25, 2003

I. Description of the Mission
    Secretary of Commerce Donald L. Evans will lead a senior-level 
business development mission to St. Petersburg and Moscow, Russia from 
September 21-25, 2003. The focus of the mission will be to assist U.S. 
businesses to explore trade and investment opportunities in the oil and 
gas sector including exploration and production,

[[Page 41781]]

equipment and services, and transportation. The delegation will include 
approximately 15 U.S. based senior executives of small, medium and 
large sized U.S. firms. The mission will reaffirm U.S. Government 
support of U.S.-Russian cooperation in the energy sector and seek to 
expand opportunities for U.S. companies. Members will participate in 
the U.S.-Russia Commercial Energy Summit in St. Petersburg on September 
22-23, and will participate in additional meetings in Moscow on 
September 24-25.
II. Commercial Setting for the Mission
    The U.S. has become increasingly engaged with Russia on energy 
issues. At the Presidential Summit in May 2002, Presidents Bush and 
Putin announced a new Energy Dialogue, with the goals of increasing 
global energy supply and security, and promoting U.S.-Russian 
cooperation in developing energy resources. The first event of the new 
Dialogue was the U.S.-Russia Commercial Energy Summit, in October 2002 
in Houston, Texas. This historic Summit brought together top officials 
and executives from the U.S. and Russian governments and energy 
industries. It was chaired by the U.S. Secretaries of Commerce and 
Energy, and the Russian Ministers of Energy and Economic Development 
and Trade. Together, they agreed to strengthen energy cooperation 
between the U.S. and Russia by working towards the common goals of 
diversifying energy supplies, improving the investment environment, 
expanding commercial partnerships, and developing resources in an 
environmentally responsible way. They also agreed to form the U.S.-
Russia Commercial Energy Dialogue (CED). The CED consists of U.S. and 
Russian energy companies, and provides a forum for discussing issues 
affecting the U.S.-Russia commercial energy relationship. The CED has 
had regular meetings since the Commercial Energy Summit, and will 
submit a report outlining ways to promote more U.S.-Russian energy 
cooperation at the Second Commercial Energy Summit, scheduled for 
September 22-23 in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Oil and Gas Equipment and Services
    Russia is currently the fifth largest export market for U.S.-made 
oil and gas field equipment. In 2002, U.S. exports of oil and gas field 
machinery to Russia totaled $328 million, an increase of 16 percent 
from 2001. High oil prices, which allowed Russian oil companies to 
invest in new and existing oil fields, new pipeline construction, and 
major loans to Russian oil companies from the U.S. Export-Import Bank 
and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development account for 
much of this increase.
    Because Russia's mature oil production base has been exploited for 
decades, efforts to offset production declines and to increase oil 
recovery factors have led to excellent prospects for U.S. exports, 
especially those targeted at oilfield rehabilitation and enhanced oil 
recovery technology. There are also a number of new projects planned 
for previously undeveloped regions such as Timan Pechora, East Siberia, 
and the Russian Far East. The huge oil fields offshore Sakhalin Island 
in the Russian Far East, which are being developed by several 
international consortia, present enormous opportunities for U.S. 
equipment suppliers. The consortia are expected to invest a total of 
$30-45 billion over the 30-year life cycles of these projects. 
Investment in energy-related infrastructure such as pipelines, ports, 
and processing facilities is also planned.
Oil and Gas Exploration and Production
    In 2003, Russia remains the world's top energy producer, when 
production of both oil and natural gas is considered on an oil 
equivalent basis. This year, Russia could produce as much as 8.0 
million barrels of oil and natural gas liquids per day (bpd) and 610 
billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas. These figures represent a 
dramatic recovery in the oil and gas sector since 1996 when oil 
production had dropped to only 6.04 million bpd and in 1997, when gas 
production was 575 bcm. The Russian government expects oil and gas 
production to continue to increase over the next decade as oil 
companies discover new fields and rehabilitate old ones.
    To date, U.S. companies have played a fairly limited role in 
developing Russia's massive oil and gas resources. U.S. companies' 
involvement ranges from several small joint ventures to the massive 
Sakhalin-I project in the Russian Far East.
Oil and Gas Transportation
    Russia's oil exports have been steadily increasing since 1995. In 
2003, Russia will export about 5.5 million bpd of crude oil and refined 
oil products, based on industry projections. The Russian government and 
Russian energy industry have stated that they intend to increase oil 
and gas exports, and to find new markets in addition to Europe, where 
the demand for oil and gas is expected to remain relatively flat. This 
will require new export infrastructure including pipelines and oil and 
gas terminals. Currently, consideration is being given to building an 
oil terminal at the warm-water port of Murmansk; a 2450-kilometer 
pipeline from Angarsk (East Siberia) to Daqing in northeastern China; 
and an LNG plant on Sakhalin for gas exports to the Far East.
III. Goals for the Mission
    The mission aims to further U.S. commercial policy objectives and 
to advance specific U.S. business interests. The mission will:
    [sbull] Assess the commercial climate and export and investment 
opportunities in Russia;
    [sbull] Advance specific U.S. business interests of the mission 
members by introducing them to key host government decision-making 
officials and to potential clients and business partners;
    [sbull] Assist new-to-market firms to gain a foothold in Russia and 
increase the visibility of U.S. companies already operating in Russia 
in this very competitive market;
    [sbull] Support U.S. Government efforts to eliminate market access 
problems encountered by U.S. firms in Russia;
    [sbull] Encourage continued progress in economic reforms in Russia;
    [sbull] Promote U.S.-Russian energy cooperation.
IV. Scenario for the Mission
    The Business Development Mission will provide participants with 
exposure to high level contacts and access to the Russian market. 
American Embassy officials and local U.S. businesses will provide a 
detailed briefing on the economic, commercial and political climate, 
and current export and investment opportunities. Meetings will be 
arranged with appropriate government ministers and other senior level 
government officials. In addition, private meetings will be scheduled 
with potential business partners. Networking events will also be 
organized to provide opportunities to meet Russian business and 
government representatives. Secretary Evans will meet with his trade 
counterparts and other senior government officials to encourage support 
for U.S. companies in Russia's energy sector.
    Mission members will participate in the U.S.-Russia Commercial 
Energy Summit in St. Petersburg, which will allow them to meet senior 
energy sector officials and industry leaders. They will also travel to 
Moscow for additional meetings with senior Russian government 
officials, as well as for one-on-one sales and business partnership 
opportunities.

[[Page 41782]]

    The tentative trip itinerary will be as follows:

September 21: Arrive in St. Petersburg
September 22: Commercial Energy Summit in St. Petersburg
September 23: Commercial Energy Summit in St. Petersburg; travel to 
Moscow
September 24: Meetings in Moscow
September 25: Meetings in Moscow; depart Moscow
V. Criteria for Participant Selection
    The recruitment and selection of private sector participants for 
this mission will be conducted according to the ``Statement of Policy 
Governing Department of Commerce-Overseas Trade Missions'' established 
in March 1997. Approximately 15 companies will be selected for the 
mission. Companies will be selected according to the criteria set out 
below.
Eligibility
    Participating companies must be incorporated in the United States. 
A company is eligible to participate if the products and/or services 
that it will promote (a) are manufactured or produced in the United 
States; or (b) if manufactured or produced outside the United States, 
are marketed under the name of a U.S. firm and have U.S. content 
representing at least 51 percent of the value of the finished good or 
service.
Selection Criteria
    Companies will be selected for participation in the mission on the 
basis of:
    [sbull] Consistency of company's goals with the scope and desired 
outcome of the mission;
    [sbull] Relevance of a company's business and product line to the 
identified growth sectors;
    [sbull] Rank of the designated company representative;
    [sbull] Past, present, or prospective relevant international 
business activity;
    [sbull] Diversity of company size, type, location, demographics, 
and traditional under-representation in business.
    [sbull] Timely receipt of signed mission application, participation 
agreement, and participation fee.
    Recruitment will begin immediately and will be conducted in an open 
and public manner, including publication in the Federal Register, 
posting on the Commerce Department trade missions calendar--http://www.ita.doc.gov/doctm/tmcal.html--and other Internet websites, press 
releases to the general and trade media. Promotion of the mission will 
also take place through the involvement of U.S. Export Assistance 
Centers and relevant trade associations.
    An applicant's partisan, political activities (including political 
contributions) are entirely irrelevant to the selection process.
VI. Time Frame for Applications
    Applications for the Russia Business Development mission will be 
made available on or about July 3, 2003. The fee to participate in this 
mission has not yet been determined, but will be approximately $8,000-
$10,000. The fees will not cover travel or lodging expenses, which will 
be the responsibility of each participant. For additional information 
on the trade mission or to obtain an application, contact the Office of 
Business Liaison at 202-482-1360. Applications should be submitted to 
the Office of Business Liaison by August 8, 2003, in order to ensure 
sufficient time to obtain in-country appointments for applicants 
selected to participate in the mission. Applications received after 
that date will be considered only if space and scheduling constraints 
permit. A mission website will be posted at http://www.commerce.com/russiamission2003 to share information as it becomes available.
    Contact: Office of Business Liaison, Room 5062, Department of 
Commerce, Washington, DC 20230, Tel: (202) 482-1360, Fax: (202) 482-
4054,&fnlhttp://www.commerce.com/russiamission.

    Dated: July 9, 2003.
Dan McCardell,
Director, Office of Business Liaison.
[FR Doc. 03-17807 Filed 7-14-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-P