Keeping a secret: Lukoil bought Shell assets in Russia, but does not name the amount

Yekaterina Maksimova

Independent political scientist Lev Berezin, knowledgeable conjuncture of the "Tyumen matryoshka" ("Lukoil" is included in the TOP companies operating in the Tyumen region and Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug) suggested that the Kremlin strongly recommended that Lukoil shareholders invest in a large purchase.

“When one of the world leaders in the energy sector decides to leave the Russian market, there can be no random buyers. State-owned companies have enough funds for such transactions, but using structures controlled by the state in the current geopolitical situation is impractical and even dangerous. The same Rosneft is doomed to be under the pressure of sanctions for a long time to come. Lukoil's prospects are more favorable in this sense. Probably, for the owners, this was a direct instruction from the Kremlin. A private company is the best option. This is the nationalization of Western assets, only the light version”, - Lev Berezin believes.

Yevgeny Minchenko , president of the Minchenko Consulting communications holding, is not inclined to consider the deal between Shell and Lukoil to be forced. “Nationalization is when they take it away, and Lukoil paid at the market price. This is a striking contrast: abroad, ours is taken away, while in Russia they are civilly redeemed. Lukoil is buying from Shell, Rosneft is buying from BP,” Evgeny Minchenko commented.

The head of Unison Capital, Andrey Basuev, believes that Lukoil has gained a strong asset and will cope with the additional load. “The plant will work, gas stations will work. Lukoil is a stable company, the company's shares will be highly quoted and will certainly reach the pre-crisis level,” Basuev predicts.

Shell and Lukoil announced the deal on May 12, and on May 25 the parties reported on its closure. The Russian company bought Shell's assets in Russia. This is a network of gas stations (411 stations), as well as a plant for the production of lubricants in the Tver region. “We highly appreciate that the choice was made in favor of our company. I am sure that Shell facilities will be a good addition to the portfolio of existing assets for LUKOIL,” commented Maxim Donde, Vice President for Petroleum Products Sales of PJSC LUKOIL.

The amount of the transaction is traditionally not disclosed. Why this is so is not clear. The interviewed experts find it difficult to even guess how much the network of gas stations and the plant cost a private Russian company.

At the end of 2021, Lukoil's revenue increased by 67.3% and amounted to 9.4 trillion rubles. "Which is mainly due to the rise in prices for hydrocarbons, the devaluation of the ruble, the increase in hydrocarbon production, as well as the volume of refining and trading of oil and oil products," the company's website says. Lukoil's net profit for the reporting period is 773.4 billion rubles.

On April 21, the founder of Lukoil, Vagit Alekperov, without explanation, resigned from the board of directors and resigned from the post of president of the company. Before that, Great Britain imposed sanctions against Alekperov.