Putin changing his tune on foreign oil companies

ARTICLE: Foreign Firms Invited to Russian Gas Fields, By ANDREW E. KRAMER, New York Times, September 24, 2009

Hmmmmm:

MOSCOW -- Just a few years after compelling foreign oil companies to renegotiate their contracts in Russia, Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin has invited executives from some of the largest such companies to discuss new work on Siberian natural gas fields.
Executives from Shell, Exxon Mobil, Total and other companies met with Mr. Putin in Salekhard, a city in the Yamal-Nenets district that is rich in large deposits of untapped natural gas.

Pic shows Putin doing PPT to a group of foreign investors.

Something to watch.

Comments

[Jack]

I don't believe it for a minute. Ask IKEA about how easy it is to do business in Russia. I don't care if it's Vladdie himself who's courting Western companies. There's too much history of Western companies having the rug pulled out of them. Forget that corporations tend to forget their souls. Who in their right mind would sink a plug nickel into the Russian business environment?

[Tom Barnett]

About $5B in FDI this year.

Reason why? Highest disposable income per household among BRIC: bunch more than Brazil, several times more China, about 10 times more India.

[Jack]

OK. I get that; but I guess I didn't ask the question right - who would want to take an entrepreneurial risk in the Russian business environment when there isn't a real free-market atmosphere that suggests you'll benefit? When you have to pay off officials or be subject to the rules changing under your feet? Until that stops, I couldn't see going forward.