- Gazprom will develop the giant Shtokman gas deposit off Russia's arctic shelf without foreign companies
- Gazprom will prioritize supplies from the Shtokman gas deposit to Nord Stream (the North European Gas Pipeline)
* Vladimir Putin and George W. Bush, the presidents of Russia and the United States, both expressed concerns in a telephone conversation that nuclear tests carried out by North Korea could undermine the international non-proliferation regime
* Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said the power of the nuclear device tested by North Korea is equivalent to 5,000-15,000 tons of TNT
* Economic Development and Trade Minister German Gref said:
- Russia will start trading its export crude blend REBCO (Russian Export Blend Crude Oil) on NYSE futures from October 20, and launch a domestic oil derivatives exchange by late 2006
- Russia might cancel import duties on aluminum following the merger of two Russian aluminum giants, RusAl and SUAL, with Switzerland's Glencore
- the next session of the Consultative Council for Foreign Investments would take place on October 16
* Kirill Androsov, a deputy economics minister, said:
- REBCO, Russia's new export blend crude oil, should replace Urals blend as the basis for calculating supply prices, export duties and mineral extraction tax
- the price of REBCO, to be pumped to Europe via Baltic pipelines, should be higher than that of Urals, generally priced at a $5-6/bbl discount to Brent
- state-owned companies should make at least 25% of their annual refined oil purchases on Russia's new oil derivatives exchange
* Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Iran's nuclear issue should be settled through diplomacy and with the involvement of the UN nuclear watchdog
* Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko said Russia will increase annual exports of natural gas by 52% to 257 billion cubic meters by 2015
* A new company that emerged after the merger of two Russian aluminum giants, Rusal and SUAL, and Swiss-based Glencore, has been named United Company Russian Aluminum, the Rusal director general said
* Viktor Vekselberg, a SUAL co-owner, said:
- two Russian aluminum giants, RusAl, SUAL, and Switzerland's Glencore, have signed an agreement on the consolidation of assets
- the company formed after the consolidation of RusAl and SUAL with Glencore will conduct an IPO in London in 18 months
* Inflation in Russia was 0.1% in September and 7.2% for the first nine months of 2006, the country's deputy prime minister said
* Ivan Volynkin, Russia's charges d'affaires in Georgia, said Russia asked Georgian diplomats to allow two evacuating planes to land on its territory on Tuesday and Wednesday, after Tbilisi airport refused permission for the landing amid a spying row
* Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko relieved Boris Nemtsov of his duties as a freelance presidential adviser, the president's press service said
* The results of a referendum on NATO membership proposed by members of parliament in the largely Russian-speaking Crimea autonomy in Ukraine will not be recognized by the Ukrainian government, a government official said
