NEW DELHI (Sputnik) – Rosneft plans to close the deal on purchasing a 49 percent stake in the Indian Essar Oil Ltd refinery in 2016, Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin said.
“We’ve negotiated (with Essar on purchasing a 49 percent stake in the refinery – Ed.), and reached a preliminary agreement on terms and procedures of closing the deal. We’ll have to receive the necessary permits, and the deal will be closed in 2016,” Sechin said. Speaking about the documents signed on Wednesday, he added that the market would be informed on the details of the deals some time later.
“Following the signing of these documents, Rosneft will be able to work with its Indian partners. Our cooperation model provides for the involvement of Indian companies in upstream projects in Russia, and Rosneft will get access to the Indian market, thus creating a safe energy bridge between our countries,” Sechin said.
In July 2015, Rosneft and Essar Oil Ltd signed a number of agreements, according to which Russia will participate in the Essar refinery in the town of Vadinar with a stake of up to 49 percent and will supply 10 million tons of oil per year to this refinery for 10 consecutive years. The refinery’s capacity is expected to more than double – from the current 20 million tons per year to 45 million tons by 2020.
