RussNeft divests assets in Azerbaijan

MOSCOW. July 1 (Interfax) - RussNeft has divested its assets in Azerbaijan, according to the Russian oil company's updated list of affiliates.

There is no longer any affiliation between the company and the BVI-registered GEA Holdings Ltd., which is involved in several production sharing project with State Oil Company of the Azerbaijani Republic (SOCAR). RussNeft participated in the development of the Absheron, Binagadi, Neftechala and Shirvan fields through GEA.

Also removed from the RussNeft structure are four companies from the Cayman Islands: Kura Valley Holdings Ltd. and Karasu Operating Company, named in the late 2000s as operators of the Padar-Harami blocks - RussNeft pulled out of the Padar block in 2019 - and Mishovdag-Kelameddin block, respectively, as well as Karasu Petroleum Company and Karasu Development Company.

Thus, RussNeft has no foreign production assets left. The company's production volumes in Azerbaijan have not been disclosed in reports in recent years, but in 2019 RussNeft said it intended to produce about 500,000 tonnes of oil.

In addition, Global Energy Cyprus Limited and Bizneta Holdings Ltd were excluded from the group. The latter previously controlled the Russian-registered limited liability companies Alatau-2, Alatau-5, Alatau-8 (liquidated in August 2023), which held several exploration licenses in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous District. Some of the licenses of these LLCs were re-registered in 2022 to RussNeft - for the Krasnoleninsky 2, Vostochno-Enitorsky and Elizarovsky 1 sections.