Commerce Department concludes successful oil and gas exhibition in the Soviet Union

Business America, Dec 7, 1987 by Susan M.H. Lewenz

Commerce Department Concludes Successful Oil and Gas Exhibition in the Soviet Union

American exhibitors at the U.S. exposition at Neftegaz-87 were visited by ranking officials of key Soviet Ministries, including the Minister of Petroleum, Minister of Gas, Minister of Chemical and Petroleum Machine Building, Chairman of the Bureau of Fuel and Energy Complex of the U.S.S.R. Council of Ministers, and the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade. The Soviet officials expressed keen interest in the U.S. product and technology offerings. The oil and gas equipment show, held Oct. 20-28, was the second major U.S. trade exhibit in the U.S.S.R. since official trade promotion was resumed in 1985.

The U.S. exposition at Neftegaz-87 offered American manufacturers a good opportunity to exhibit their equipment and meet with high-level Soviet industry officials. For many of the 44 American companies exhibiting, participation in Neftegaz represented a return to the Soviet market following the January expiration of U.S. foreign policy export controls on much of this equipment.

Soviet officials appeared to place significant value on American expertise in this industry. Equipment of particular interest included offshore and arctic drilling equipment, electronic and computerized control systems, and enhanced recovery technology.

Although U.S. exhibitors in general left with an optimistic outlook for their industry in the Soviet market for the long term, immediate sales, as expected, were restrained by currently diminished Soviet hard-currency earnings. The $2 million in contracts signed at the show included oil well artificial lift systems and well completion equipment, gas lift and chemical injection equipment, valves and water injection equipment, and pipeline pig equipment.

Photo: Commerce Department officials welcome Soviet trade officials to the U.S. Pavilion at Neftegaz-87. From left: Susanne Lotarski, Director of the Office of Eastern Europe and Soviet Affairs; V.M. Malkevich, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade; Louis Laun, Assistant Secretary of Commerce; O.V. Kozhevnikov, Soviet Trade Representative to the United States; A.A. Plavinsky, Deputy Chief of the Soviet Trade and Economic Relations with American Countries Administration; N.V. Zinovyev, Chief of the Soviet Trade and Economic Relations with American Countries Administration; Michael Mears, Senior Commercial Counselor, US&FCS-Moscow.