CEO: Rosneft working on returning some Bashneft assets

BERLIN, May 18 (PRIME) -- Russian oil major Rosneft is working on returning come assets of oil company Bashneft, in which it controls a 69.3% stake, Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin told reporters on Thursday.

Earlier in May, Rosneft filed a suit seeking to recover an alleged loss from Sistema and its unit Sistema-Invest, which Rosneft believes were involved in asset stripping in Bashneft in 2009–2014, when they owned a controlling stake. The Arbitration Court of the republic of Bashkortostan registered the company’s suit on May 15 and scheduled hearings of the suit for June 6.

“We are working on cutting Bashneft’s costs, we have returned its oil servicing business. We are now working on returning some other assets,” Sechin said.

“We have filed a suit on energy assets of Bashenergo that used to be part of Bashneft (and were later swapped) for Sistema shares, that were later cancelled. Bashneft’s direct losses amounted to 106 billion rubles excluding differences in currency rates. The authorities of the republic of Bashkortostan and other minorities of Bashneft support our position.”

By filing a court suit, Rosneft managed to reach an amicable deal on return of oil servicing assets. “Bashneft’s former oil and gas production department was spun off and established as private servicing company Targin, 4 billion rubles were stripped, it immediately received an about 48 billion ruble contract from Bashneft. We returned the company for 4 billion rubles,” Sechin said.

(56.7383 rubles – U.S. $1)

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