Igor Makarov, the former head of Russian gas company Itera, is wrapping up a deal to buy 50 percent of New Stream, the energy group said on Monday.
Russia’s largest oil producer Rosneft (ROSN.MM) fully acquired Itera, Russia’s top gas exporter in the 1990s, around four years ago.
Makarov, the head of the Areti group of companies, will be appointed as chairman of New Stream Holding, whose main asset is the Antipinsky oil refinery in the West Siberian city of Tyumen.
The deal could help New Stream cut its $2.5 billion debt, Kommersant business daily reported, citing unnamed industry sources.
New Stream’s president Dmitry Mazurov will retain 50 percent in the company.
New Stream will also take over the Afipsky refinery with an annual capacity of 6 million tonnes, located in the region of Krasnodar near the Black Sea. It did not disclose the details of the deal.
Source: Reuters.com