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 TOP INTERVIEWS |
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Interview with
Mr. VLADIMIR I. YEFREMOV
Chairman of the Duma of Sakhalin Region
7 August, 2002
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Could you tell us about your experience as representative of Rosneft for the Far East, and the path you took to finally become Chairman of the Regional Duma?
I started working as the head of the representative office of Sakhalinmorneftegas JSC (SMNG) in 1995 - it is a subsidiary of Rosneft oil company, and also the oldest company in the Rosneft system, besides Grozneft in Chechnya. Next year SMNG will be 75 years old.
Given that oil is mostly extracted in the Northern part of the island, I had to work on the South in order to solve problems related to oil production with the Administration and the Duma, to represent SMNG, and carry out other responsibilities. After SMNG head office was moved to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, there no longer was a necessity to have its representative office; however there had to be a representative office for Rosneft, and I became the Director for the Far East.
In this region Rosneft is represented by SMNG, and oil extraction company, Komsomolsk Oil Refinery in Khabarovsk region and Nakhodkanefteproduct in Primorye, which is involved in transportation, processing, and storing oil. These are some of the oldest enterprises. Komsomolsk Oil Refinery will by 60 years old in December and Nakhodkanefteproduct will be 35 years old. Currently there have been two more Rosneft subsidiaries created in Khabarovsk - Vostoknefteproduct, which is involved in wholesale and retail of oil products, and Daltransgaz, which is involved in the gasification program for the Russian Far East. There is also a pipeline being built in the Khabarovsk region. Thus my responsibilities included coordinating the work of all these companies, providing Rosneft with truthful information about this work, solving problems with the Administration of Khabarovsk region, Nakhodka, and Sakhalin region. I also represented Rosneft in the Administration and the law-making institutions, which culminated into a great deal of work.
In October 2000, I decided to participate in the Sakhalin Regional Duma elections, and I was elected successfully. Until August 2002 I was combining my general job as a Rosneft representative and my work at the Duma. In the Duma, I have been elected deputy chairman of the general Budget and Finance Commission, which was headed by A.S. Starodubtsev, and on June 4th, 2002, the Duma member elected me Chairman of the Duma of Sakhalin region.
What was the process towards your election as Chairman of the Duma?
In February 2001, the members of the Sakhalin Duma have appointed Mr.Tretyak to be work permanently in the Federal Council of Russian Federation. After that it took 6 months to elect a member of the Duma to be the Chairman. There were a lot of candidates and eventually I was elected. I didn't agree to it right away, because it was unexpected. Out of the 27 members of the Duma, 16 members work there permanently; I thought it would be most appropriate is one of those 16 people heads the Duma. However, all attempts to elect any of those people have not been successful, while I got elected right away.
I understand that one of your goals is to balance economic development with social development - how do you propose to accomplish this?
The Duma is a specific institution; it produces laws. Economics and development of various industries, creating favorable conditions for specific industries, providing financial support in order to help a particular industry get out of a crisis - all of it is mostly done by the Administration of the region, led by the Governor, through the Economics Committee, the Oil and Gas Department, Fishing Department, etc.
Meanwhile, the Duma has to create and confirm regional laws, which allow the industries of the economics function properly. The Duma solves problems concerning the distribution of the budget in the social areas and the industries. Now we also have an external budget fund, which allows us solve crisis problems that might happen in different sectors. First of all, this includes the energy complex and the municipal economy.
The distribution of the regional funding is controlled by the Duma, its members and commissions. The balance of social and economic developments depend on the work with the Sakhalin Administration and its departments. You have to bear in mind the opportunities in each sector and then distribute the external budget which comes from the shelf oil projects. First the law about distributing the external budget funds is initiated by the Governor - he suggests the problems that must be solved - then we try to find the right balance.
What are your challenges in creating and adopting new laws?
The laws for Sakhalin region are revised and confirmed by the 27 members of the Duma. The initiative comes from the Governor, Duma members, or other institutions that have a right to do so. It is a different case when the laws should be revised and accepted by the Federal Duma on a federal level; this involves more challenges. We often bring law initiatives to the Federal Duma of the Russian Federation, but we do not always have their understanding. The major work of the Duma is the Plenary Meetings. The Spring Session of 2002 had 15 Plenary meetings, we have reviewed 400 problems, made 350 decisions and accepted 48 laws. For example, the citizens of the Sakhalin region are concerned about the oil and gas project on the Sakhalin shelf; and because of that, it is important to work out a law about environmental protection for the region, which is therefore one of the major questions we are working on.
What will be the most important aspect of your work next year?
After the summer break, we will initiate the Fall Session, where we have a plan of actions for the Sakhalin Duma. The most important law we will have to work on is the Budget Law for 2003, which will be based on the message from the President for the Federal Council. As soon as the Duma members come back from vacations, we will start working on this law.
President Putin stated that Russia must decrease its bureaucracy, increase its effectiveness, and attract more investments. Do you agree?
Definitely. The Administrative apparatus is growing and it has to be controlled. Today we cannot afford to have this apparatus exceed the capabilities of our economy. All the work that we do has to have an effect. Attracting investments is already happening on the Sakhalin region because of the large shelf projects on the island. The citizens have been given these great natural resources by God, and they have to be used to benefit Russia and Sakhalin population. In order to develop them, we need tremendous investments. The fact that Sakhalin-1 and Sakhalin-2 are working with the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) means that Russia does not have enough capital to develop these projects.
Which do you prefer - politics or business?
These two concepts are inseparable, when you work on grand issues. We are solving political problems, but by education I am an economist, so business is closer to me.
Do you think that your job is the right direction for your career?
Time will tell.
What would be you final message for potential investors wishing to come to Sakhalin?
Invest in Sakhalin and we will work together. I think that the time since the beginning of the shelf projects has shown that it is possible to work with Russian people, with the Administration and with the Sakhalin Duma. This is very important for businessmen who can invest in Sakhalin region. The important thing for them is stability, which allows you to plan out your final results. The important thing for them is getting the profit, because whenever there is an investment, there is an expectation of a profit.
Our goal is to move forward and never look back. Perhaps we are not completely satisfied by how some of the projects work and what we have allowed them to do, but we are not going to go back on these problems. Every day, every year we are changing, we are building our economy. Future projects, Sakhalin-3, Sakhalin-4, Sakhalin-5, and many more will be based on different conditions because now the investment circumstances are different: there are Russian companies able to invest Billions of dollars into developing these projects. Yet, Sakhalin-1 and Sakhalin-2 should work under the terms that have been initially set up with the PSA. Sakhalin-2 has been successful, they are extracting oil, building the infrastructure, and we are waiting for the Sakhalin-1 to do the same. This will happen very soon.
Note: WINNE cannot be held responsible for the content of unedited transcriptions. |
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