Boosted: Russia's stake of the CPC
Russia snaps up Oman CPC stake
Russia has bought Oman's 7% stake in the Chevron-led Caspian oil pipeline, raising its share in the key export route for Kazakhstan's crude to 31%, Russian pipeline monopoly Transneft said today.
Transneft which holds Russia's stake in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), is involved in protracted discussions with other shareholders of the group on terms by which the route's capacity could be expanded.
"Rosimushchestvo (the federal property agency) has finalised the deal to buy Oman's 7% stake in CPC," Transneft spokesman Igor Dyomin told Reuters.
He did not disclose the sum of the deal, saying the agency had yet to pass Transneft all the documents concerning the deal.
Denis Borisov, an analyst at Moscow-based brokerage Solid, said Russia's increased stake in CPC was unlikely to add much weight to Transneft's position within the group, although it could help Russia increase its profits in the project in future.
"It is not expected immediately to increase Russia's influence in the group's taking important decisions,” Borisov said to Reuters.
“It is more likely to bear fruit in the future. When the debts are repaid and the shareholders start making profits, Transneft might expect higher dividends."
Oman decided this year to sell its stake in the pipeline, which pumps Kazakh crude to Russia's main Black Sea port of Novorossiisk.
Industry sources have said Oman was frustrated with delays in the planned expansion of the route.
Russia, the biggest state shareholder in the group, had long opposed the plan to double the pipeline's capacity, saying the pipeline yielded low returns and that expansion would add pressure to the congested Turkish Straits shipping route.
Transneft dropped its objections last summer after most of the partners agreed to raise the shipping tariff to $38 per tonne from $30.24 last year and private investors agreed to halve interest rates on a $5 billion loan to CPC to 6%, easing worries over funding.
The only shareholder still opposing the plan is BP, which has said it might also sell its stake if compromise is not found.
Kazakhstan, the other state shareholder, which owns 19% in the group, had also voiced interest in buying Oman's stake.
Besides BP and Chevron, the consortium's private shareholders include Shell, ExxonMobil and Russia's two largest oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil.