Add to favorite
Photo Credit: http://www.fprb.ru
Bashneft is heading towards one of the worst crisis in its history, and the outcome of the scandal is impossible to predict.
But first let’s look at the history of Bashkortostan’s oil giant and its 2014 financial status.
1995 Bashneft was founded.
1998 Bashneft begins production in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District.
2005 AFK Sistema buys large stakes in Bashkortostan’s main energy companies
2009 In March 2009, Sistema becomes the principal owner of 6 BashTEK companies. In December, Bashneft acquires from Sistema a controlling stake in JSOC Ufaneftekhim, JSOC Novoil, JSOC UNPZ, JSOC Ufaorgsintez, and JSOC Bashkirnefteprodukt, and becomes the managing company of a new petroleum holding.
2011 JSOC Bashneft arrives in Timan-Pechora, having received a federal subsoil license for a site that includes the R. Trebs and A. Titov deposits in the Nenets Autonomous District. In April, an agreement was signed with LUKOIL for the joint implementation of a project in Timan-Pechora.
Bashneft has been included in the list of the 50 most successful and dynamic private-sector companies in the BRICS countries and other emerging markets, according to 2014 BCG Local Dynamos, a new report prepared by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).
A considerable improvement in financial performance in the second quarter and the first half of 2014 was driven mainly by increased oil production and petroleum product output combined with a favourable pricing environment.
1H 2014 vs. 1H 2013:
- · The Group’s revenue from sales increased by 18.9 percent to RUB 309,844 million;
- · Adjusted EBITDA grew by 24.6 percent to RUB 54,995 million;
- · Net income attributable to the shareholders of the parent company increased by 18.5% to RUB 29,814 million;
- · Operating cash flow grew from RUB 22,757 million to RUB 47,122 million;
- · Capital expenditure rose by 31.7 percent to RUB 18,811 million;
- · Oil production grew by 9.3 percent, while the output of petroleum products increased by 3.6 percent.
- · Output of Euro 5 gasoline and diesel fuel gained 34.9 percent and 26.1 percent respectively.
It now turns out that BashTEK companies have been privatized illegally by its former CEO, Ural Rakhimov. According to the ruling of the Moscow City Court, he abused his father’s position as the region’s governor to embezzle the oil giant’s shares.
In 2002-2006, Ural Rakhimov “got hold of controlling stakes in a number of companies” using his father’s administrative position, says a ruling of the court. Earlier, the Commercial Court of Moscvow had arrested Bashneft's stocks owned by Russia's largest publicly traded holding Sistema.
The prosecutors insist the privatization deal was fraught with violations and that the stocks must be returned to the state, a decision that surprised many investors and even the Russian Ministry of Economic Development. Some even suggested this case may become the first in a series of deprivatisation decisions needed to increase the revenue flow for the budget.
According to the police, that son privatized the assets illegally and laundered the funds by selling this major oil company to Yevtushenkov’s Sistema at what they claim was a lower price.
However, Sistema’s management believes that the acquisition of BashTEK group was “legal and transparent.” The company is now fully cooperating with the investigation and intends to use all legal means to defend its position, said an official press release.
Rumours around the detention include Rosneft’s push to buy Bashneft at a cheap price to ramp up its production capabilities amid sanctions limiting Igor Sechin’s plans to develop offshore fields.
Rumours around the detention include Rosneft’s push to buy Bashneft at a cheap price to ramp up its production capabilities amid sanctions limiting Igor Sechin’s plans to develop offshore fields.
Rosneft has strongly rejected the allegations but it is still very much in the news, with many comparing Yevtushenkov to another oligarch, Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
Bashneft’s shares plunged considerably, with the investors fearing the company could be split into several entities, handed over to the state or sold off to a state-run company, like Rosneft.
Author: Mikhail Vesely
