RGN-INTER, which over 2m b/d of oil equivalent of crude oil, condensate and natural gas, has two large refineries in Russia and one in Ukraine. Considine said RGN-INTER was studying whether to proceed with upgrades that would drastically cut fuel oil output at its Ryazan and Lysychansk plants and would require investments of up to $1 billion per refinery. But he said his firm and other producers were keen to hear Russia and Ukraine's long-term fiscal strategies and whether they planned to encourage higher fuel standards. "The big concern is uncertainty", he said.Russian refined products exports fell in June after lower refining runs in May 2006, when oil firms rushed to export more crude before a further hike in export duties. Crude oil export duties rose to $199.8/ton from June from the previous all-time high of $186.4/ton. Data showed Russian firms exported 2.864m ton of fuel oil in June, down 8.4% from May. Gasoline exports fell 4.9% to 587,000 tons.
