Page 126 - RusRPTFeb24

than seriously. The ministry on Monday evening announced the creation of an operational headquarters with the participation of oil companies, the participants of which agreed to limit the export of gasoline to meet the needs of the domestic market. Sources from RBC and Interfax say that the government is also considering a complete ban on gasoline exports.
This is the second time in six months that the fuel market has had to be saved manually. In the middle of last year, the abolition of the damper (compensating for the difference between export and artificially low domestic fuel prices) led to a sharp rise in prices, which the government also decided to combat by banning the export of gasoline. Exports resumed, and with it, payments to oil companies under the damper mechanism.
Lukoil owned and one of the United Kingdom's largest oil refineries has extended a loan facility with the arm of an oil company founded and part-owned by a sanctioned Russian oligarch, the Guardian reported on January 2.
Recently filed accounts reveal that oil refinery owner Essar Oil UK extended a $500m “payment facility" to Litasco, the oil trading division of Moscow-based Lukoil. The agreement effectively comes into force as a line of credit allowing Essar to buy fuel and pay later.
Litasco is wholly owned by Lukoil, whose founder, Russian oligarch Vagit Alekperov, was placed under sanctions by the UK in April 2022. Alekperov previously stepped down as a director of Lukoil shortly after he was placed under sanction but remains an 8.5% shareholder.
Lukoil is under sanctions in the US but not in the UK or EU. Litasco is not under sanctions in any of the jurisdictions, having succeeded in a High Court decision that determined that Alekperov did not exert direct control over the company.
The two-year agreement between Essar Oil UK and Litasco was slated to initially conclude in May 2023, but has been extended to June 2024. According to financial records, $320mn of the total $500mn is slated for reimbursement within the next 12 months.
A close associate to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, Alekperov has been frequently pictured with Putin. In the days leading up to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Alekperov was among a large group of oligarchs summoned to the Kremlin in late February 2022. The oligarch's personal wealth has previously been estimated to be $20bn.
126 RUSSIA Country Report February 2024 www.intellinews.com