by Nina Achmatova

Kommersant newspaper, cites a letter signed, among others, by Gazpromneft and Rosneft. The companies are against a bill that aims to discourage the purchase of foreign machinery and engineering and increase state control in the background of the wider campaign of "import substitution".

Moscow (AsiaNews) - Giants of the Russian energy sector have sent a letter to President Vladimir Putin  protesting a bill that aims to increase the use of equipment 'Made in Russia' to offset the impact of Western sanctions, according to Kommersant newspaper.

The bill "shows the desire of the state to strengthen its control on the energy industry, which generates half of government revenues, while the drop in oil prices and sanctions have brought the Federation into recession".

Citing the letter, the newspaper reports that Russian companies are concerned about the increase of state control and procurement orders for their equipment, in an attempt to reduce its dependence on foreign productions, against the backdrop of tensions with the EU and USA over the Ukrainian crisis. According to Kommersant companies such as Rosneft, Lukoil, Gazpromneft, Novatek and Zarubezhneft - among the signatories of the letter to the Kremlin - complain that the bill would limit their ability to plan their activities.

The first draft of the bill has been approved by the Duma and reportedly authorizes the government to establish a special council to approve purchases. Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, said he was not aware of the letter, while the company cited by Kommersant declined to comment. "Import substitution" has become Putin’s leitmotif over the past year, since Western sanctions restricted access to financing of Russian companies on international markets.

In February, Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev signed a decree banning Western machinery manufacturers from participating in public contests for contracts in construction, the exploration of raw materials and urban maintenance. The measure is added to the embargo on food and agricultural products in response to Western sanctions. Deputy Arkady Dvorkovich said that these machines can be replaced with equipment produced in Russia, in line with the broader policy of making up for Western products with the 'Made in Russia'.

• RUSSIA
• western
• sanctions
• manufacturing
• energy
• giants
• letter
• putin