Page 159 - RusRPTJan23

A US private equity group has resumed talks to buy Italy’s largest petroleum refinery from Russia’s Lukoil, although any deal will require the backing of Italy’s new nationalist government, the Financial Times reported on December 1 quoting people briefed on the matter. Crossbridge Energy Partners is negotiating an agreement with Lukoil that would value Sicily-based ISAB refinery at 1–1.5bn euros, the people said. Global commodity trader Vitol would help to finance a deal, they added. Talks between the US group and Lukoil began earlier this year and accelerated at the end of the summer when Crossbridge executives carried out 12 days of due diligence at the plant in the Sicilian town of Priolo. But discussions came to a halt at the end of October. Lukoil is pushing to get a deal done before EU sanctions targeting Russian seaborne oil exports come into full effect next Monday. Italy’s government contends that any deal will require extra time to settle, and it is putting a priority on getting banks to provide the refinery with operating funds, officials said. Vitol would receive a supply and offtake agreement as part of the financing deal, said the people briefed on the talks, which would make it the key provider of crude for the refinery and marketer of the fuels it produces. Vitol declined to comment. The commodities trading house Trafigura has also held talks with Lukoil about a potential deal in case negotiations with Crossbridge fall apart, people briefed on the matter said. Trafigura declined to comment. Any acquirer picked by Lukoil would need to obtain the backing of Giorgia Meloni’s new rightwing government, said people briefed about the matter. Italy is planning to buy a minority stake in the Switzerland-based company that Lukoil uses to control the refinery through so-called “golden power” rule, which enables Rome to intervene when there is a perceived threat to an asset in a strategically important sector, such as energy.
The Council of Ministers of Italy approved a decree late on December 2 to bailout a refinery owned by Russia's Lukoil in the Sicilian town of Priolo, the government said in a statement on Friday. Sources close to the government told PRIME that the decree envisages temporary management on the plant for up to 12 months with a possibility of one 12-month rollover. The document also stipulates assignment of a ministerial commissar. Senator Antonio Nicita said that under trust management, the refinery could buy non-Russian oil, restart credit lines and will be allowed to change the owner by using the Golden power instrument. The refinery may lose fuel after the EU introduces the sixth package of sanctions that includes a ban on Russian fuel imports on December 5. According to media reports, all scenarios of its development, including nationalization were considered.
9.2.2 Automotive corporate news
159 RUSSIA Country Report January 2023 www.intellinews.com
Russia’s largest carmaker AvtoVAZ will manage the former Nissan car plant in St. Petersburg, production at the enterprise is planned to start in 2023, Deputy Prime Minister and Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov