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Moscow Refinery Finances Skyrocket
The Moscow Oil Refinery, which has operated for years with modest financial results, experienced a 79-fold increase in its net profit in the first half of this year, reaching $43 million. A financial account by Russian accounting standards for the second quarter published yesterday indicates that the refinery made 1.1 billion rubles in the first half of the year, compared to 14 million in last year's first half. Proceeds doubled to 4.8 billion rubles at the refinery, while operating costs increased only 35 percent to 2.8 billion rubles.
At the refinery, they say that the improved financial results are due to its raising the price it charges for processing from 545 rubles to 855 rubles per ton of oil. That is, according to refinery general director Sergey Netesanov, is in keeping with market rates. Netesanov also noted that the refinery was closed down for some time last year for upgrading. The refinery processed 9.68 million tons of oil last year. The Moscow Oil and Gas Co. owns 50.84 percent of the voting stock in the refinery. It, in turn, is owned by businessman Shalva Chigirinsky and the City of Moscow. Gazprom Neft owns 36.84 percent of the refinery through affiliates, and Tatneft owns 7.78 percent. Minority shareholders act in opposition to the main owners.
Gazprom Neft lost control of the refinery's board of directors last year and, although they regained four out of ten places on the board this year, the refinery remains under the control of Moscow Oil and Gas. The reappointment of Yury Luzhkov as mayor of Moscow also strengthened Moscow Oil and Gas's position. The opposing sides have filed numerous lawsuits against each other. Chigirinsky has repeatedly expressed his willingness to negotiate a new management structure for the refinery, but Gazprom Neft has so far found his proposals unacceptable.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Aug. 15, 2007
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