TUAPSE, April 3 (Itar-Tass) – Russian oil giant Rosneft will buy out refueling assets in airports controlled by investment company Basic Element.
Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Basic Element Oleg Deripaska signed an agreement reviewing the terms of a future deal at the meeting that took place at the Tuapse refinery on Russia’s Black Sea coast on Wednesday.
Rosneft will acquire five refueling units in airports of the Krasnodar Territory and in Abakan, the Republic of Khakassia, Sechin told reporters.
“A group of airports that are jointly owned by Basic Element, Changi Airports International and Sberbank will get a reliable partner that will produce up to 1 million tonnes of jet fuel under the best international standards at this platform alone. This reduces logistics expenditures and will help stabilize plane ticket prices and resolve the problem of providing all airports in the county’s south with fuel,” Deripaska said.
Moreover, Rosneft also signed a memorandum of cooperation with Russkiye Mashiny (Russian Machines), the automotive unit of Basic Element, in increasing the use of natural gas as engine fuel.
Sechin explained Rosneft’s choice of its partner by Russkiye Mashiny’s “advanced technological solutions.” “Their technological partners are the largest car-making companies in Europe and the world, including Volkswagen that sponsors the Olympic Games,” he said.
“We believe that these vehicles will reliably work and Rosneft in turn will provide necessary volumes of fuel to all consumers. It is very important that the authorities of the Krasnodar Territory supported this program. We have exchanged similar proposals with Moscow, the Moscow region and St. Petersburg,” Sechin said.
He noted that Moscow and St. Petersburg could become main consumers of natural gas engine fuel, as ecology is the key element for these cities’ daily life. Moreover, while using natural gas as fuel for cars, buses and cargo vehicles the authorities of these megapolises will save significant funds.