MOSCOW, Nov. 3 – Large Russian oil companies –Rosneft, Lukoil, Surgutneftegaz, Gazprom Neft and TNK-BP – have sent a letter to the government asking it to prolong an intergovernmental agreement on duty-free pipe imports with Ukraine.

A joint letter of oil companies said that at present, the only competitive products that are an alternative to Russian pipes remain those from Ukrainian producers.