UPDATE: Watchdog finds 45 bln rbl worth of violations at Bashneft refinery

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UFA/MOSCOW, Jul 6 (PRIME) – The Russian technical watchdog has discovered about 3,500 violations at a refinery of oil company Bashneft that will require up to 45 billion rubles to eliminate, Rustem Khamitov, head of the republic of Bashkortostan, said on Thursday at a local government meeting.

“Revaluation of Bashneft’s plants equipment is taking place now. We all thought that its refinery was the best in the country, but inspection by the technological watchdog discovered about 3,500 violations. There are simple but important components that have to be worked on,” he said.

Bashneft will have to spend about 40–45 billion rubles to eliminate the violations, he said.

Bashneft now belongs to oil major Rosneft, which bought it from business conglomerate Sistema last year. State-controlled Rosneft is now suing Sistema for 170.6 billion rubles in damages alleging some assets were removed from Bashneft. Sistema has rejected the claims.

The 18th Arbitration Court of Appeals has turned down Sistema’s appeal against a decision to attract the Republic of Bashkortostan’s Ministry of Land and Property Relations as a co-claimant under the Rosneft suit because this procedural action cannot be appealed against, court representative Olga Fomichyova, said.

Rosneft filed its suit in May, seeking to recover a loss stemming from Sistema’s alleged asset withdrawal from Bashneft in 2009–2014. Last week, the Arbitration Court of the republic of Bashkortostan issued an order to seize 185 billion rubles worth of assets of Sistema, including a 31.76% stake in mobile operator MTS, 100% in healthcare company Medsi, and 90.5% in Bashkir Power Grid Company, under the 170.6 billion ruble case.

Sistema representative Sergei Kopytov said that the company will decide what to do soon.

(59.5787 rubles – U.S. $1)

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