LLC Neft-Aktiv, subsidiary of Russian state-controlled oil and gas company Rosneft, has acquired base oil plants in Angarsk and Novokuibyshev, Russia,through bankruptcy auctions of the assets of oil refiner Yukos Oil Co.
Neft-Aktiv acquired 100 percent stakes in the Novokuibyshev Oils and Additives Plant, and in Angarsk Petrochemical Co. The Novokuibyshev acquisition came through a 175.7 billion ruble (U.S. $6.8 billion) bid for 37 different enterprises among Yukos assets on May 3. The Angarsk acquisition came about through a separate 165.5 billion ruble (U.S. $6.4 billion) bid for 28 other Yukos-owned enterprises on May 10.
According to Yukos Web site, the Novokuibyshev Oils and Additives plant was founded in 1951 at the site of the Novokuibyshev Refinerys oil production plant. It became an operating unit of Yukos in 1998. The refinery includes a 3,300 barrels-per-day Group I base oil plant. In 2006, the plant produced a total of 215,000 metric tons of lubricants. It produced 63 different types of industrial, marine, hardening and special motor oils, including 28 grades that meet Russian standards and 19 grades of universal motor oils that meet international API standards.
Angarsk Petrochemical Co. (Angarsk Refinery) includes an oil refinery, a chemicals plant, and storage facilities for feedstock and output. The refinery, built in 1953, includes a Group I base oil plant with capacity for 4,900 b/d. Yukos had acquired a controlling interest in the company in July 2001.
According to InfoTek Consulting, Yukos was Russias second largest lube producer, producing 441 tons of lubricants in 2005. It was a distant second to OAO LukOils lubricant arm, OOO LLK-International, which produced 1,119 tons of lubes in 2005, constituting 43 percent of domestic lube production.
Russia’s 11 major base oil refineries have total capacity of just under 68,000 b/d; all but 500 of those barrels are Group I oils.
Before the auction proceedings, Moscow-based state oil company Rosneft owned two refineries, which have a combined throughput capacity of 10 million metric tons per year, as well as four main oil export terminals and a nationwide network of about 700 service stations.