Connections needed

EXTRACTING oil from Russia's inhospitable terrain is difficult enough. However, for the country's oil companies, the real challenge comes in trying to get that oil out of the country. In recent months the domestic price for oil has been around $8 a barrel less than the world price. At present, Russia's rickety pipeline system and its inadequate ports limit its oil companies to exporting only 2m barrels per day (bpd), roughly a third of Russia's total production.