The company is floating 1,492,537 new shares in the form of GDRs and 501,729 old shares (also in the form of GDRs) not owned by Integra’s management, which represents 21 and 7 percent of the company’s total stock, respectively. The shares have been offered to institutional investors outside the United States. Integra will use the IPO proceeds to repay debt and fund future acquisitions and investment projects.

Joint bookrunners Morgan Stanley and Renaissance Capital have been granted an over-allotment option for 299,139 shares in the form of 5,982,780 GDRs. The banks will have 30 days after the announcement of the offer price to decide whether to exercise this option, accounting for 15 percent of the entire flotation.

Trial trade on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) will start today, and real trade will begin on 27 February.

Integra Group, set up in late 2004, comprises more than 40 oilfield services and petroleum engineering companies, including Uralmash-VNIIBT, Alians Drilling Company LLC, Sever Drilling Company LLC, Integra-Bureniye LLC, Integra KRS LLC, Azimut Energy Services JSC, Smith Eurasia company, Russian Geophysical Company JSC, and Tyumenneftegeofisika JSC.

It provides high-quality and cost-effective services including drilling, workovers, well logging, integrated project management, geophysical surveys, manufacturing and repair of drilling and cementing equipment and tools.

From January to September 2006, Integra’s net loss stood at $15.57 million, in accordance with international financial reporting standards (IFRS), against a net profit of $2.43 million in the same period of 2005. The company reported a net profit of $3.35 million in 2005.

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Over the past month alone Medvedev’s rating has gone up by 2 percent, and Ivanov’s popularity has risen by 5 percent, Moscow Echo radio reports. Indeed, Ivanov’s promotion from Defense Minister to Senior Deputy Prime Minister earlier this month has boosted his political stature.

The third place is shared by Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov and Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the head of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, each of them with 8 percent.

Meanwhile, the largest number of respondents (25 percent) said they would vote “against all candidates” though this option has long been cancelled. The percentage of undecided voters has reduced from almost a third of respondents in December to 20 percent in February.

If we do not take into account undecided respondents, Medvedev would get 30 percent of the vote, and Ivanov would have 27 percent, according to the Levada Center.

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"January inflation was 1.7%, which is 0.7% less than in January 2006," German Gref said.

He said inflation in the first 19 days of February rose 0.5%, as compared to 0.7% in the same period of last year.

"January and February inflation will be 1.5% lower than in the first two months of last year," he said.

Gref said industrial output rose 8.4% in January, year-on-year, while electricity, natural gas and water consumption fell more than 10%.

He said household incomes rose 13% in January, year-on-year, while real wages were up 17%, year-on-year.

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The GDP growth has met expectations. In December 2006 the Economy Ministry raised its GDP forecast from 6.6 to 6.8 percent, due to a higher than expected increase in consumer and investment demand.

In late December the Economy Ministry also raised its GDP forecast for 2007-2010. GDP growth is projected to be 6.2 percent (up from 6 percent) in 2007, 5.9 percent (up from 5.8 percent) in 2008, 6 percent (up from 5.9%) in 2009, and 6.1% in 2010.

Yet, these forecasts do not ensure the doubling of the GDP by 2010, of which Economy Minister German Gref has spoken repeatedly. Experts say Russia’s GDP has to grow by at least 7.2 percent a year to achieve the ambitious goal set by President Vladimir Putin.

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The export duty on light oil products has been set at $133.4 per tonne, and the duty on dark products at $71.8 per tonne.

From 1 December 2006 to 1 February 2007, the oil export duty was $180.7 per tonne. The export duty on light oil products was $134 per tonne, and $72.2 per tonne for dark products. From 1 October to 30 November 2006 the oil export duty stood at $237.6 per tonne.

The government reviews the oil export duty every two months, based on the monitoring of world oil prices.

Experts say Russia’s decision to lower the oil export duty was prompted by a decline in world oil prices. Indeed, the price of oil dropped by almost 15 percent from 1 to 19 January, when the decree to cut the oil export duty was signed. Oil futures contract prices plunged on 18 January, dropping more than $1 per barrel on European markets and slipping by over $1.7 in the US. For the first time since 25 May 2005, oil prices in New York fell below $50 a barrel to $49.9.

Meanwhile, oil futures prices have recovered slightly, Texas Light Sweet rising to $58.14 per barrel, and Brent oil to $57.4 per barrel.

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The main function of the new company is to represent Russia’s interests as a shareholder in the International Project Company (51 percent). The shareholders in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium and Kazakhstan’s KazMunaiGaz would be welcome to join the pipeline consortium, Andrei Dementyev, Deputy Minister for Industry and Energy, said on 21 November 2006.

In January 2003 Russia, Bulgaria and Greece signed an agreement to build a pipeline transporting Russian oil from the Bulgarian Black Sea port of Burgas to the Greek Aegean port of Alexandroupolis. A memorandum on the Burgas-Alexandroupolis project was signed in Sofia on 12 April 2005. An inter-governmental agreement on the project will be signed soon.

The construction of the 280km long pipeline is estimated to cost EUR 783 million. The Greek government is expected to grant EUR 100 million, the rest to be provided by shareholders and through borrowing. The capacity of the pipeline will be 15 million tonnes at the first stage of the project, 24 million at the second stage and 35 million tonnes at the third stage.

The pipeline will be an alternative route for Russia and other countries of the Caspian region, allowing them to transport oil to Europe bypassing the Bosporus and the Dardanelles.

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