Lukoil Executive: Russia Unlikely to Sell Large Rosneft Stake Soon

MOSCOW - The Russian government is unlikely to sell a large stake in state-controlled oil giant OAO Rosneft in the near future and won't give up its dominant position in the energy sector, the deputy chief executive of Russia's biggest non-state oil producer, OAO Lukoil Holdings, said Thursday.

"The state will continue to dominate in the sectors of the economy where it can," Leonid Fedun told the Sberbank Russia Forum 2013.

He added that the current situation in the oil sector reminds him of the mid-1990s, when there were only two sizeable oil companies in Russia: a state-owned one and Lukoil.

The past decade has witnessed the forced bankruptcy of what was once the largest oil producer, OAO Yukos; the takeover of OAO Sibneft by state-owned natural-gas firm OAO Gazprom; and, last month, the acquisition of TNK-BP by Rosneft.

Mr. Fedun said the state will dominate the market until 2018-2019, when it may be faced with falling oil output and will start seeking to improve the management of the companies.

Russian Economy Minister Andrei Belousov said in April the state may reduce its stake in Rosneft by roughly 19% from 69.5% now. Rosneft Chief Executive Igor Sechin opposes the plan.

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SBM: Large Payments were made in Corruption Probe

Dutch oilfield services firm SBM Offshore said Thursday that an internal investigation into potentially improper sales practices in Africa has confirmed that substantial payments were made to government officials. The firm added that the investigation – which has been carried out by outside legal counsel and forensic accountants since it was first announced April 10 2012 – is expected to be completed during 2013.

The investigation is into alleged payments involving sales intermediaries in certain African countries during the period 2007 to 2011. The investigation is trying to determine whether these alleged payments violated anti-corruption laws.

Although SBM said that it could not make any definitive statements regarding the findings of the investigation so far, it said that initial feedback received to date indicates that substantial payments were made, mostly through intermediaries, which appear to have been intended for government officials.

The alleged payments came to the attention of SBM's management board after a review of its compliance procedures in late 2011. In the course of the investigation allegations were made of improper payments in countries outside Africa but to date no conclusive proof of such allegations has been established, the firm added.

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SBM: Large Payments were made in Corruption Probe

Dutch oilfield services firm SBM Offshore said Thursday that an internal investigation into potentially improper sales practices in Africa has confirmed that substantial payments were made to government officials. The firm added that the investigation – which has been carried out by outside legal counsel and forensic accountants since it was first announced April 10 2012 – is expected to be completed during 2013.

The investigation is into alleged payments involving sales intermediaries in certain African countries during the period 2007 to 2011. The investigation is trying to determine whether these alleged payments violated anti-corruption laws.

Although SBM said that it could not make any definitive statements regarding the findings of the investigation so far, it said that initial feedback received to date indicates that substantial payments were made, mostly through intermediaries, which appear to have been intended for government officials.

The alleged payments came to the attention of SBM's management board after a review of its compliance procedures in late 2011. In the course of the investigation allegations were made of improper payments in countries outside Africa but to date no conclusive proof of such allegations has been established, the firm added.

Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.

View the original article here