Novatek Boosts Use of Euros in Contracts: Press

Russia’s leading LNG producer Novatek now uses euros in most of its export contracts, rather than US dollars, its CEO Leonid Mikhelson told reporters on October 24, according to Vedomosti.

“We started the process of switching to the euro long before Rosneft”, Mikhelson said, after Novatek was targeted by US sanctions in July 2014. “American legal entities and individuals cannot provide loans to us ... We mainly use the euro in settlements with counter parties,” he explained.

A few weeks ago Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin also noted it had set the euro as the default currency for all its new export contracts. According to Sechin, the share of the dollar in global oil and oil products trade is 90% and this “monopoly” must be challenged. He said the share of the Chinese yuan was currently at only 2-5% but could significantly increase over the next ten years.