Duterte invites top Russian oil producer Rosneft to invest in PHL

President Rodrigo Duterte has asked Russia’s top oil producer to invest in the Philippines and assured the company that he would not tolerate corruption in the bureaucracy, Malacañang said Thursday.

Duterte met with officials of Rosneft Oil Co. in a courtesy call led by Igor Sechin, the company’s chief executive officer, in Moscow on Wednesday.

During the meeting, presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Duterte invited Rosneft to invest in the Philippines, “particularly with regard to oil and gas development.”

"We wish to add that the Chief Executive underscored that any agreement that will be executed or performed for such purpose shall undergo the proper domestic processes and comply with applicable laws and pertinent rules and regulations so as not to leave any room for corruption or irregularity," Panelo said.

The Palace spokesman added that Duterte assured Rosneft that their investments are safe in the Philippines.

The President was accompanied in the meeting by Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr., Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, and Philippine Ambassador to the Russian Federation Carlos Sorreta.

Rosneft, according to its website, is the leader in the Russian oil sector and the largest global public oil and gas corporation.

The state-owned company is engaged in the exploration and appraisal of hydrocarbon fields, production of oil, gas and gas condensate, offshore field development projects, feedstock processing and sales of oil, gas and refined products in Russia and abroad.

Rosneft’s Vietnam unit has a development project in an area of the resource-rich South China Sea that is being claimed by Vietnam and China.

The Philippines also lays claim to a part of the South China Sea. — Virgil Lopez/RSJ, GMA News