A traditional meeting of heads of oil companies was held at Transneft, on 7 October.
 Company’s President S.M. Vainshtock informed of consistently pursued upgrading of oil pipelines and enhancement of Transneft’s operating facilities, the rate of which surpasses the oil production rates. As a result, oil producers had to adjust their plans, cutting down oil delivery during nine months in 2004.
 The meeting participants noted some surplus one can see in pipeline capacities, and Transneft’s management confirmed its intention to continue efforts to expand the system’s facilities capacity. Thus, starting from 2005, the trunk oil pipelines are expected to ensure the intake to the system of 476mln t of oil, of which deliveries for exports may amount to 260mln t, and deliveries to Russian refineries – 216mln t. The actual rate of growth of pipelines throughput capacity will reach 16% next year, which is twice as big as the yearly oil production output growth over the last three years (8%). 
 Heads of oil companies were given a presentation of the Surgut-Indiga Project, a northern route for transportation of liquid hydrocarbons that was developed by Transneft. Having noted a potential demand for this new export direction, the oilmen suggested that the volumes of crude to be pumped should be finalized, considering oil coming from both the Western Siberia and the Timan-Pechora province.
 The managers of Transneft informed about the results of the Oil Quality Bank pilot and commercial tests that had been carried out throughout the entire pipeline system. The Company has fully detailed the organizational and technical structure and functioning objectives, which aim at ensuring the calculations making technique. At the same time, it has been stressed that the introduction of the Oil Quality Bank is a large-scale and comprehensive task that includes not only developing the scheme of making payments, but also involving the issues of quality management, upgrading the existing refineries, world’s markets prices, and associated social problems in regions where oil production cutting down is expected, and a lot of other issues.

Those present at the meeting: G.B. Khan, Executive Director, OAO TNK-BP; S.M. Bogdanchikov, President, OAO Rosneft; E.M. Shvidler, President, OAO Sibneft, Yu.E. Sukhanov, President, OAO Slavneft; A.V. Temerko, Senior Vice President, OOO Yukos-Moscow; V.L. Bogdanov, General Director, OAO Surgutneftegas; Sh.F. Takhautdinov, General Director, OAO Tatneft.