• 3 minutes e-car sales collapse
  • 6 minutes America Is Exceptional in Its Political Divide
  • 11 minutes Perovskites, a ‘dirt cheap’ alternative to silicon, just got a lot more efficient
  • 7 mins GREEN NEW DEAL = BLIZZARD OF LIES
  • 5 days The United States produced more crude oil than any nation, at any time.
  • 10 days e-truck insanity
  • 9 days Oil Stocks, Market Direction, Bitcoin, Minerals, Gold, Silver - Technical Trading <--- Chris Vermeulen & Gareth Soloway weigh in
  • 6 days How Far Have We Really Gotten With Alternative Energy
  • 8 days James Corbett Interviews Irina Slav of OILPRICE.COM - "Burn, Hollywood, Burn!" - The Corbett Report
  • 9 days The European Union is exceptional in its political divide. Examples are apparent in Hungary, Slovakia, Sweden, Netherlands, Belarus, Ireland, etc.
  • 10 days Biden's $2 trillion Plan for Insfrastructure and Jobs
  • 10 days "What’s In Store For Europe In 2023?" By the CIA (aka RFE/RL as a ruse to deceive readers)

Russia to Privatize Bashneft Oil Within Two Months

Russian authorities have greenlighted the sale of 50 percent of the Russian state oil company Bashneft after it excluded the company from a list of strategically important assets.

Russian Economic Development Minister Alexey Ulyukayev said the privatization of the mid-size oil company could be completed within two months.

Bashneft is Russia’s sixth-largest crude oil producer, with total proved reserves of 2.15 billion barrels and probable reserves of 653 million barrels. Before the oil slump started in the summer of 2014, Bashneft was valued at up to $13 billion.

Related: When We Can Expect The Next Oil Shock

Russia is in need of a cash injection, and in January the authorities said they were considering partial privatization of some other assets in which it owns shares, including other oil major Rosneft, diamond producer Alrosa, VTB bank and Sovcomflot. Still, the government hopes that Bashneft would be easier to sell than other state enterprises, as it is a listed company.

Bashneft was nationalized only two years ago, and the government now owns a 50 percent plus-one stake. The government announced it may move to sell either a 50 percent-plus stake or go for a stock market offering of 25 percent.

The regional government in the Russian republic of Bashkortostan is holding another 25 percent, and it’s not planning on selling—a stance that could scare away potential investors.

Related: The Biggest Winner Of The Oil Bust: Interview With Aeromexico

However, back in February, Russian Lukoil said it was eyeing the state’s 50-percent stake in Bashneft, with local media reporting that the company had already entered into unofficial talks with the authorities. However, Lukoil officials now say the company will not even consider buying a 25 percent stake in Bashneft.

Still, an acquisition of a stake in Bashneft would make sense for Lukoil, which already partners with the state-owned company in the Trebs and Titov oil fields, which hold some 1.1 billion barrels of estimated reserves. Lukoil is also the largest supplier of oil to the Bashneft refinery.

ADVERTISEMENT

By James Burgess of Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:



Join the discussion | Back to homepage



Leave a comment

Leave a comment

EXXON Mobil -0.35
Open57.81 Trading Vol.6.96M Previous Vol.241.7B
BUY 57.15
Sell 57.00
Oilprice - The No. 1 Source for Oil & Energy News