On the morning of October 20, 2016 CEO of "Rosneft" Igor Sechin arrived in Palazzo Della Gran Guardia in Verona, Italy with an annual visit to the V Eurasian Forum. A week earlier, he had closed a deal to buy 50.08% "Bashneft" for 329.69 billion rubles. The forum with Sechin was a heavy program: report of the dialogue in the Eurasian space, the links with the European partners on the global oil market, and then negotiate with Italian colleagues. Questions to the head of "Rosneft" has accumulated a lot, so journalists are hunted for hours for him, showing miracles of ingenuity. Seeing that Sechin left the meeting room, reporters rushed after him, but the guards would not let them, and they ran into the building from another entrance and surrounded his tight ring at the exit of the dressing room.

Top manager issued a statement left no doubt: it is about the purchase of "Bashneft" has not yet been completed, everything is just beginning. "There are contractors who have been removed from the" Bashneft ". In assessing the assets of 8 billion rubles were withdrawn for some reason, for 4 billion rubles, "- said Sechin. In the future, the same contractor has received proceeds of 53 billion rubles and the current contract for 28 billion rubles, he added. It was about a service company "Targin", which in 2013 bought the former shareholder of "Bashneft" AFK "System". The transaction took place at the market price determined by an independent appraiser, said the representative of the "System". In November, the company reduced by 15% of the price for the "Rosneft". And on November 15 in the office of "Rosneft" at the Sofia Embankment was detained Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev, allegedly received bribes of "Rosneft" for a positive decision on the transaction of "Bashneft".

What got "Rosneft" for nearly 330 billion rubles? The "Bashneft" strong financial position, low debt burden, increasing production and, of course, processing assets, experts interviewed by Forbes. "What is left of the" Bashneft "- is, in fact, Filkin charter", - resents federal official. According to him, oil and oil products "Bashneft", "sold for many years to come", including the partner entities to develop their fields. Trebsa and Titov in the Nenets AO - "Lukoil", which is also claimed to be a controlling stake, "Bashneft".

On the day of the transaction Mikhail Leontiev has answered the question Forbes company spokeswoman on further cooperation with "Lukoil", "There are deals, we say clearly ambiguous, we will all be considered to look legitimate, conditions of purchase, encumbrance." Forbes understood where Bashkir oil flows.

heavy crude

Going "Bashneft" under the control of "Rosneft" was like a special operation. The next day, after the close of the transaction the Board of Directors this morning dismissed the president of "Bashneft" Alexander Corsica and appointed in his place the vice president of "Rosneft" Andrei Shishkin, and in the afternoon in the company's offices in Moscow and Ufa were the seizure of documents. "We recesses do not, we do not need. We are introduced to the contracts, "- he explained Sechin to" Interfax ". Results of the "review" is not long in coming. In addition to contracts with "Targinom" new management "Bashneft" I have studied the agreement with "Lukoil".

"Thank you for the development of strong business relationships and support for productive work between our companies. I suggest that you consider the possibility of termination to the November 1, 2016 Agreement of 3 July 2015 on the sale of crude oil and petroleum products ", - said in a letter Shishkin, vice president of" Lukoil "Valery Subbotin (RBC quote). It was about the agreements until January 31, 2017 at 400 billion rubles, "Bashneft" bought in "Lukoil-Rezervnefteprodukta" oil to download their refineries, as a trader of "Lukoil" Litasco redeemed petroleum products for export sales. In addition, Litasco sells oil JV "Bashneft" and "Lukoil" from the fields to them. Trebsa and Titova: in 2015, a trader of "Lukoil" has posted on the export of 543 763 tonnes, representing almost 40% of the oil produced there.

But "Bashneft" contracts and were larger. In 2015, it produced 19.9 million tons of oil, of which 6.7 million tons exported, the rest went to processing. According to Forbes, more than half sent for export of oil (3.8 million tonnes) accounted for two little known oil traders and Normeston Concept Oil. These traders have become major buyers of "Bashneft" in 2013, ie before the nationalization. Normeston registered in Belize, and the Concept Oil - in Hong Kong.

Concept Oil works primarily with small oil companies ( "Qayum Oil", "Kolvaneft", "Dulisma", "Negusneft" INC), but to "Bashneft" accounts for 21% of deliveries on export trader, estimates Forbes. From material litigation Concept Oil in 2012-2013, one of the partners should be that the major shareholder of the company is Michael Seligman, but data on the amount of its share and the other shareholders do not have. "Seligman - Latvian nationality. In 2003 he created the Concept Oil for the supply of oil and petroleum products in Europe, Russia and CIS countries, including Kazakhstan, where he built a good network of business contacts. Including relations with the Russian oil company "Lukoil", - stated in the materials. But information about the affiliation of Concept Oil and "Lukoil" is not. Contact seligmannite failed.

Federal officials and a Russian oil trader told Forbes, that the Concept Oil may be "close ties with the Ministry of Energy." "On paper, of course, any of the beneficiaries - the Ministry of Energy officials find not succeed", - said one of them. "Direct ownership is not necessary. there are those in similar companies, who "expelled" share of the profits and the "will wear". People at the office are close by proxy ", - he tells about the possible scheme of another Russian oil trader. In the Energy Ministry could not comment on it.

For Normeston «Bashneft" - the main supplier of raw materials. In 2015, a trader had brought from Russia 2.617 million tons of oil at $ 968 million, of which 99% are in Bashkir companies. Forbes Normeston Sources associated with the former vice-president of "Transneft" Mikhail Arustamova. In 2013, "Vedomosti" wrote that Arustamov was close to the president of "Transneft" Nikolay Tokarev: "There was no such problem in Monopoly that Arustamov could not solve: Tokarev he completely trusted and the main work - whether it be construction contracts or graphics pumping oil - lay it on Arustamova ". Arustamov stated that after firing broke ties in 2012 with the "Transneft".

Prior to the sale of "Rosneft" shares "Bashneft" again entered into long term contracts for the supply of oil and petroleum products trader Normeston, and Vitol. The total amount of the contract was estimated at 197 billion rubles, the period of validity - from January 1, 2016 with an extension option. In January, a contract was signed with the Concept Oil for an amount not more than 81 billion rubles (at the time approximately US $ 1 billion). Thus, prior to the privatization of "Bashneft" has sold raw prepaid for several years ahead, and "Rosneft" received "Bashneft" already sold volumes of crude oil and petroleum products.


The effect of the merger

"At the time of the acquisition of" Rosneft "," Bashneft "has completed its major investment projects in processing and has the most modern and efficient processing complex among the Russian companies", - says the analyst of FG BCS Cyril Tachennikov. The total capacity of the plants amounts to 23.2 million tons per year, or about 9.5% of all Russian vertical processing oil companies, considered IFC Markets analyst Dmitry Lukashov. The "Bashneft" produces about 20 million tons of oil a year (4.3% of total Russian production companies). Thus, "Bashneft" recycles a significant portion of crude oil, as well as part of the raw materials of third-party companies. "This contributes to the relatively high net profit margin - about 10.5% in ruble terms" - calculated Loukashov.

The company continues to increase the production rate, outstripping their own forecasts, the deputy director of corporate ratings group ACRA Basil Tanurcov. During the first 9 months of 2016, production increased by 8.6% compared to the same period last year, production for the year could reach about 21.2 million tons compared to 19.9 million tons last year (+ 6.5%) . The main contribution to the growth of production they make deposits. Trebs and Titov, developed jointly with the "Lukoil". According Tanurkova, "Bashneft" stands out among Russian companies high efficiency of mature fields, in addition, the company's debt load is more than comfortable - the ratio of net debt / EBITDA ratio of less than 1 (0.64).

"In terms of long-term liabilities to assets and capital, and net debt to EBITDA of" Bashneft "is somewhere in the middle between the two companies with almost zero debt load (" Surgutneftegaz "," Tatneft "and" Lukoil ") and normal (" Rosneft "," Gazprom Neft "," Novatek ")", - says Loukashov. Raiffeisenbank analyst Andrei Polishchuk described the financial position of "Bashneft" as sustainable.

"Given the price premium for control (330 billion rubles), it is the market", - said Tanurcov. "The price determined by the market," Rosneft "considers that pay a fair price, as get a good synergistic effect. For "Lukoil" price seemed inflated, "- Polishchuk said.

. Senior analyst "Aton" Alexander Kornilov evaluate the possible synergies from the purchase of "Rosneft", "Bashneft" in the $ 2.6 billion reduction in the administrative and management costs could bring $ 770 million, and access to the refineries, "Bashneft" -. $ 1.8 billion, he According to the example of TNK-BP, "Rosneft" has shown that the company knows how to pour a large assets with a positive financial effect.