Transneft to discuss with China oil supply price formula.

MOSCOW, September 5 (Itar-Tass) -- Transneft will discuss with China
on September 13-14 the price formula of oil supplies through the
Skovorodino-Daqing pipeline (a branch of the Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean
/ESPO/ pipeline), Transneft vice-president Mikhail Barkov told ITAR-TASS
on Monday.
"Transneft will resolve in Beijing on September 13-14 one of the most
important problems of today in relations with China," Barkov said. "We'll
discuss the price formula of oil supplies through the Skovorodino-Daqing
pipeline," he added.
In spring this year it became known that the Chinese side unilaterally
reduced the sum of payments according to the oil supply contracts with
Transneft and Rosneft because of its disagreement with one the parameters
by which the price formula is calculated. The companies didn't rule out
the possibility of applying to the London Court of International
Arbitration. The debt of the Chinese National Oil and Gas Corporation over
the supplied oil from Russia through the ESPO branch then exceeded 100
million dollars. As of today, the debt to Transneft out of this sum
amounts to about 40 million dollars.