Russian energy firms get $9B bailout

MOSCOW, Oct. 14 (UPI) -- The Russian government has agreed to allocate $9 billion to the four largest oil and gas firms to shore up their foreign debts and back several projects.

Gazprom, TNK-BP, Rosneft and LUKoil on Sept. 24 sent a letter to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin asking for $80 billion, and on Friday Putin acquiesced to a smaller bailout.

Energy analysts echoed sentiments by Gazprom chief Alexei Miller, who said the energy sector in Russia was secure amid the strain of the global economic turmoil, saying overall yearly profits were up, the Russian daily Kommersant said Tuesday.

As part of the deal, oil firm Rosneft will get $4.2 billion, LUKoil will receive $2 billion, $1.8 billion will be allocated to TNK-BP, and gas giant Gazprom will secure $1 billion in funds.

Russian officials said earlier this week most of the planned projects by the energy majors were in stages advanced enough to avoid negative exposure to current market conditions.

"The work of gas sector enterprises is built on different principles, and even if something critical happens in oil markets, gas companies always have at least six months to analyze their financial business," said Miller.