State-controlled Rosneft, the largest oil producer in Russia, has asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to be allowed to export natural gas with giant Gazprom acting as an export agent, Russian newspaper Kommersant reports , citing a letter which Rosneft’s boss has sent to Putin. Gazprom is the sole exporter of natural gas in Russia. Rosneft’s chief executive office Igor Sechin wrote a letter to Putin dated August 13, asking the Russian oil producer to be allowed to export 10 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe per year, Kommersant says. Rosneft proposes to sign an agreement with Gazprom, in which the gas monopoly will act as the export agent for the gas Rosneft plans to ship to Europe, according to Sechin’s letter seen by Kommersant. Such an agreement would not affect Gazprom’s monopoly in Russian exports, Sechin notes in the letter. Rosneft’s key argument for being allowed to export […]