Russian oil and gas companies Sibur and Taif, which recently launched finished lubricant production in Nizhnekamsk, are merging their petrochemical assets. Under the deal, Taif’s existing shareholders will receive a 15% stake in Sibur in exchange for a controlling stake in Taif Group, Sibur said in its April 23 news release.
The announcement did not specify the size of the Taif stake that Sibur will receive initially, but it did state that the combined company will subsequently be allowed to buy the rest of Taif. The deal is subject to completion of the relevant corporate procedures and regulatory approvals.
Taif’s lube arm, Taif Lubricants, operates Russia’s only polyalphaolefin plant. The Nizhnekamsk facility has capacity to produce 10,000 tons of PAOs annually. In 2020 the company completed a modernization that included construction of a 9,000 t/y finished lubricants plant and introduction of additional PAO viscosity grades. The PAO plant now makes 2, 4, 6 and 12 centiStoke fluids, but it can also produce 8 and 10 cSt cuts upon request and plans to start making 20 and 25 cSt grades in 2021, a company official told Lube Report.
Taif Lubricants is not authorized to give comments on the announced merger and redirected our inquiry to Taif’s main office, which did not respond by press time.
Upon completion of all investment projects, the merged company will become one of the five global leaders in the production of polyolefins and rubbers, Sibur claims.
“This combination will make the new company’s petrochemical operations more competitive in the global market, improve its resilience to market fluctuations, and also unlock further growth potential of Russia’s petrochemical industry … and boost chemical exports,” said Dmitry Konov, Sibur’s board chairman.
“The deal will help Taif Group to substantially accelerate the key projects in its 2030 strategic development program … improve productivity at our facilities, and expand our product mix,” said Albert Shigabutdinov, chairman of Taif’s board of directors.
Tatarstan-based Taif consists of 28 enterprises operating in a wide range of markets, including oil and gas refining, chemistry, petrochemistry, power engineering, banking and investment activities. Its core line of business is production of rubbers, different types of polyethylene, polypropylene and polycarbonate. Taif employs a workforce of about 36,000 people across all units of its group. Headquartered in Moscow, Sibur is Russia’s largest integrated oil and gas chemical company and one of the fastest growing global oil and gas companies with more than 23,000 employees. Sibur revenues in 2020 were $7.2 billion.