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in Russia
A New Eastern Frontier
As the largest independent bunker supplier in the world, Aegean examines opportunities in all corners of the globe.
Aegean recently began new operations in Hamburg, Germany, Los
Angeles, USA, and the Gulf of Mexico. The company’s latest expansion
is into one of the most important energy markets in the
world: the Russian Federation. Accordingly, Aegean has stated, “We
believe that our expansion into Russia, combined with our recent entry
into the U.S. Gulf Coast, U.S. West Coast, and German markets, demonstrates
our continued actions to strengthen the Aegean network around
the world. We are confident that Aegean is well positioned for continued
growth, success and value creation in 2015.”
Aegean’s operations in this region will include a marketing and business
development office located in St. Petersburg, dedicated to sales
and marketing of marine petroleum products across all Russian ports.
With the assistance of five seasoned industry professionals, previously
employed by OW Bunker, the company expects to gain important local
market intelligence, while providing enhanced service to clients at all
Russian ports.
Ports in Russia
The major ports of Russia are:
• Novorossiysk, Rostov-on-Don, Sochi, Tuapse on the Black Sea;
• Baltiysk, Kaliningrad, Primorsk, St. Petersburg, on the Baltic Sea;
• Arkhangelsk, Igarka, Vitino on the White Sea and other seas of the
Arctic Ocean;
• Kholmsk, Nevelsk, Vladivostok on the Pacific Ocean, and • Makhachkala
and Astrakhan on the Caspian Sea.
Petroleum
The petroleum industry in Russia is one of the largest in the world.
Russia has the largest reserves, and is the largest exporter, of natural
gas. It has the second largest coal reserves, the eighth largest oil reserves,
and is the largest producer of oil. It is the third largest energy
user.
International Trade
The export industry of Russia is estimated to be worth $542.5 billion
according to 2012 data. The major goods that are exported from Russia
are petroleum and petroleum products, metals, natural gas, wooden
products as well as wood itself, and civilian and military manufactures.
Russian import industry is worth $358.1 billion (2012 est), with the imported
goods being machinery, vehicles, plastic, semi-finished metal
products, pharmaceutical products, fruits and nuts, meat, iron, steel etc.
The president of the chamber Theofilos Ioannidis is meeting
with the president of Aegean Oil Dimitris Melissanidis at the
head offices of the company in 1991.
A Geographical Wonder
The Russian Federation, which covers one-eighth of the earth’s surface,
spans Eastern Europe and northern Asia, and ranks as the world’s
largest nation in terms of territory. At about 1.8 times the size of the US,
Russia has an area of 10, 672,000 sq. miles (17,075,200 sq.km), stretches
2,500-4,000 km from north to south and another 9,000 km from west
to east. It has a population of almost 150 million people. Russia boasts
12,000 rivers with a length of 10 km or more and around 2 million freshand
salt-water lakes are scattered across Russia. The largest lakes
are the Caspian, Baikal, Ladoga, Onega and Taimyr. Lake Baikal, which
attracts scores of foreign environmentalists, is the largest fresh-water
lake in the world. The country possesses a wide array of natural resources
including major deposits of oil, coal, natural gas, many strategic
minerals, diamonds and timber. The total potential value of mineral resources
(in world prices) is estimated at $30 trillion. Russia produces 17
per cent of the world’s crude oil, as well as 25-30 per cent of its natural
gas, 6 per cent of all bituminous coal, 17 per cent of commercial iron
ore and 10-20 per cent of all non-ferrous, rare and noble metals mined
across the globe.
The largest oil-and-gas deposits are to be found in Western and Eastern
Siberia and on Sakhalin Island. The Russian Federation has 1,067 major
cities, with 13 of them inhabited by one million and more people
each. The largest cities are Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod,
Novosibirsk and Yekaterinburg.
St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg, the nation’s second major industrial, research and cultural
center after Moscow, was founded by Tsar Peter the Great on May
27, 1703. The Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of
Monuments constitute a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Saint Petersburg
is also home to The Hermitage, one of the largest art museums in the
world. The city boasts world famous architectural ensembles: the Peter
and Paul Fortress, the Alexander Nevsky Laura, the Palace Square and
Winter Palace, the Decembrists’ Square, where a monument to Peter
the Great stands, St. Isaac’s Cathedral, the Admiralty, the Academy of
Arts, as well as numerous bridges. The maritime academy was founded
here in 1715 and St. Petersburg serves as this country’s most important
Baltic Sea port.
Source: http://www.rusemb.org.uk/russiageography/