03 June 2004 03:55
Sibir Accuses Sibneft of Stealing Its Assets
Sibir Energy on Wednesady accused billionaire Roman Abramovich's Sibneft of using a series of secret share
emissions to steal its $111 million stake in a venture that holds the rights to a huge Siberian oil field.
Shalva Chigirinsky, founder and main owner of Sibir, said by telephone that he would take legal action against
Sibneft's management for orchestrating the dilution of his company's stake in Sibneft-Yugra, which has shrunk
from 50 percent to 1 percent.
"The management of Sibneft-Yugra, together with the management of Sibneft, diluted our stake with two or three
share emissions. This was illegal and we will go to all the relevant authorities to get back our stake,"
Chigirinsky said. "[President Vladimir Putin] has said that you can't steal anymore, which probably applies to
them too," he added.
Sibir Energy is a London-listed company that counts Anglo-Dutch giant Shell among its partners. When its shares were
suspended on London's AIM exchange in mid-April, which Sibir requested until it could determine what was going on
at Sibneft-Yugra, it had a market value of $880 million.
Sibir says its half of the massive Priobskoye field in Western Siberia entitles it to 668 million barrels of proven
oil reserves.
Sibneft spokesman John Mann refused to comment on Chigirinsky's allegations, saying only that Sibneft's
stake in the venture has remained static at 50 percent.
Asked how it was possible that Sibneft had no knowledge of share emissions at a subsidiary that has just one other
owner, Mann said cryptically: "There were two shareholders when the company was created."
Sibir had planned to swap its half of Sibneft-Yugra for a 45 percent stake in a new company, the Moscow Oil and Gas
Co., which is a joint venture with City Hall.
But when MOGC officials were conducting due diligence on Sibir's stake in Sibneft-Yugra, "they found buried
deep in the files that there had been a dilution," said Robert Kirchner, director of Sibir's corporate affairs
department.
Now City Hall is asking Sibir to pay the equivalent of $111 million if it wants to retain its stake in MOGC, a
company that controls a sizable portion of Moscow's fuel market.
"The MOGC project will go ahead and we will replace the Sibneft-Yugra assets either with money, shares in Sibir
or even Sibneft-Yugra," Chigirinsky said.
This isn't the first time Chigirinsky has locked horns with Abramovich. Two years ago, MOGC and Sibneft fought
for control of an oil refinery that produces half of the gasoline bought by Moscow motorists.
The two sides finally "agreed to disagree," in the words of one Sibir manager, and settled on a power
sharing arrangement.
Sibir said it does not yet know how Sibneft diluted its shares but suspects the issuances may have gone to a third
party, with Sibneft buying part of the emissions to maintain its 50 percent stake.
"We've had to tell tens of thousands of shareholders of Sibir Energy that they have been duped,"
Chigirinsky said.
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[The Moscow Times] |
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