Reduced Yukos oil export may affect world oil market

If YUKOS has to reduce oil export, it may affect the world markets' oil supply, believes YUKOS CEO Steven Theede.

"If we have to reduce our export with regard to our situation, it will bring certain risk of decreasing the world markets' oil supply", Steven Theede told a press conference on Thursday.

At the same time, he pointed out that he did not know how it might affect the oil market's prices, adding that it probably would.

"YUKOS is Russia's largest oil exporter exporting 75% of its production", added Mr. Theede.

Mr. Theede said that the oil company YUKOS would pay $1.3 billion of back taxes by the end of July.

By the end of the month YUKOS will pay about $700 million in cash, he said.

"Besides, we count on VAT return amounting to $500-600 million", Steven Theede pointed out.

According to him, YUKOS has not received a single reply for the 11 letters forwarded to the Finance Ministry, the Justice Ministry, the government staff and other agencies.

"We have sent 11 letters followed by no reply. We do not know what the government is going for and we will see how it will respond to our letters", said Mr. Theede.

"It concerns not only negotiations with the government, we want to find out what is going on", he stressed.

In his turn, Viktor Gerashchenko, chairman of YUKOS board of directors, stressed that he had been in touch "with the responsible persons in the government" from the moment of his appointment to this managerial position in the company.

"However, their polite secretaries always say that they (the responsible persons) are busy, attending a meeting and so on", he said.

According to Mr. Gerashchenko, on the day when bailiffs came to YUKOS, he, as he personally admitted, called "anywhere he could". "But there is no reply. There is no response to the letters either. Perhaps, it shows that slow thinkers sit in the government", said Mr. Gerashchenko.

Earlier, the bailiffs additionally arrested YUKOS accounts amounting to $200 million, Steven Theede reported.

"The company's capabilities on attracting loan funds are limited due to distress of the main assets an the company's accounts in the amount of $200 million", Mr. Theede pointed out.

According to him, the company can not attract outside investors' funds from foreign markets, but can make only corporate loans.