2007 Press Releases
Ambassador's trip to Tyumen
March 5, 2007
On March 5-6, 2007, Ambassador William Burns made his first trip to Tyumen, Russia's most important energy producing region. The visit was one of a series of trips that he is making to cities and regions outside of Moscow.
On March 5, Ambassador Burns met with Deputy Governor Alexander Viktorovich Mohr and Director of Investment Policy and Entrepreneurship State Support Vadim Mikhailovich Shumkov. While acknowledging the importance of the region for global energy supplies, the Ambassador stressed that Tyumen has a high concentration of U.S. and international investment. He noted that companies such as ConocoPhilips, Chevron, Schlumberger, and TNK-BP are successfully operating in the region in the oil and gas production sector and related services. The Ambassador discussed with regional officials their views on further bilateral cooperation and economic diversification. He reinforced the importance of attracting additional U.S. investment to the region and on fostering greater ties between the United States and the Russia's north.
The Ambassador then paid a visit the American Corner where he met with alumni of Open World, a U.S. Government-sponsored professional exchange programs focused on business and development of small and medium-size enterprises. He noted that participants in these programs play an essential role in building bridges between Russia and the United States and expressed gratitude to the alumni for fostering mutual understanding between Russia and the United States through their daily interactions.
On March 6, the Ambassador met with TNK-BP’s Director of the Tyumen Regional Office, Oleg Leonidovich Chemezov, and separately with the Regional Director of the Tyumen Branch of Lukoil, Nikolai Evegeinyevich Pavlov. The parties discussed the region's huge potential for the U.S. energy companies, and for services and equipment companies. The Ambassador was pleased to note TNK-BP recent investment in the West Siberian joint venture, Vanyoganneft which reflects the company's continuing confidence in the future of Russia’s oil and gas sector. He also discussed at length the successful partnership between Conoco-Phillips and Lukoil and expressed the hope that these bright examples will serve as models of future cooperation.
The visit also included a meeting with representatives of U.S. energy companies working in the region, including Chevron Russia, Halliburton, Parker Drilling, Harvest Natural Resources, and ConocoPhillips. The Ambassador noted that January 2007 was rich in new events in the U.S. - Russian cooperation. Chevron and Gazprom Neft, one of Russia’s oil majors announced the creation of a joint venture. The new company, Severnaya Taiga Neftegaz will explore, evaluate and develop oil fields in Western Siberia. Ambassador Burns stressed that in today’s globalized, integrated world market, companies are increasingly multinational and span international borders. He said that it is very important that private property rights must be respected in order for the market to work properly.
The Ambassador held a press conference roundtable with the about 20 regional journalists at the round table discussion at Interfax-Ural/Tyumenskaya Liniya Press Center. He took numerous questions from local reporters which ranged from bilateral cooperation in oil and gas sector to his views on possible investment projects in other industries. The Ambassador expressed hope that cooperation between Western and Russian companies will go beyond oil and gas production and will become more diversified. He said that partnership in LNG production, utilization of associated natural gas, and development of new IT tools open a wide vista of opportunities for parties involved. Other topics included Russian accession to the WTO, U.S. anti-missile defenses in Europe, the current state of Russian-American relations, events in the Middle East, and Tyumen’s cultural history.
Finally, the Ambassador met with students and faculty of the Tyumen State Oil and Gas University. After delivering remarks on the U.S.-Russia relations and economic cooperation, he answered students’ questions about U.S.-Russian relations and global issues.
