Naftan to be sold to Russians

Naftan open joint stock company has been put on the privatisation list for Russian business.

The enterprise was included in the list of Belarusian-Russian joint integration projects that supposes privatisation, Prime news agency reports.  

“The privatisation of Naftan company is stipulated by the list of projects with participation of Russian companies. These projects are under control of the Belarusian government now,” the agency learnt from a source. He refused to name the potential investor saying that the company is discussing the issue.

He supposes that conditions for oil supplies to Belarus will depend on the speed of the integration in the petrochemical sector.

The Belarusian government keeps a number of integration projects under control, including setting up Rosbelavto holding company on the basis of KAMAZ and MAZ plants, cooperation between EuroChem and Grodno Azot companies, integration of Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant into Russia's military industrial sector, the project of Roskosmos and Peleng company (Minsk), the project of Russian Electronics (owned by Rostec State Corporation) and Integral plant.

Naftan's main partners are Russian companies Rosneft and Surgutneftgaz. In the first quarter of 2013, Rosneft received the biggest quota for oil supplies to Belarus by pipeline – 1.385mn tonnes of oil.

Naftan processed 10.6mn tonnes of Russian oil in 2012 and slightly more than 10 million tonnes in 2011. Founded in 1963 and transformed into a joint stock company in 2002,  Naftan is Belarus's largest oil refinery. In 2008, Naftan merged with Polymir chemical company. The state's stake in the company's authorised capital is 99.83%. The refinery makes over 70 types of products, including oil, petrol, Euro IV and Euro V diesel fuel.

Photo: bdg.by