Igor Sechin and Ramzan Kadyrov agree not to hand over Rosneft assets in Chechnya - RBC

Russian oil major Rosneft will not sell its regional assets to the Chechen authorities and build an oil refinery in Grozny, but it will stay in the republic and begin investing in its social infrastructure. This was agreed by Ramzan Kadyrov and Igor Sechin on April 19, the "RBC" reports today.

The "Caucasian Knot" has informed that on April 12, the "Financial Times" reported that the conflict over oil assets in Chechnya between Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and Igor Sechin, the director of the "Rosneft", had worsened, and as a result, there were even versions about the "Chechen sign" in the terror act committed in Saint Petersburg on April 3. In their joint statement, Ramzan Kadyrov and Igor Sechin denied the above information and threatened to bring the "Financial Times" to court.

Following the results of the meeting of Igor Sechin and Ramzan Kadyrov held on April 19, the "Rosneft" will continue its activities in Chechnya and will not sell its regional assets, including its main asset the "Grozneftegaz", which is 49% owned by the republic. According to the "RBC", the above information was reported by two sources from the "Rosneft" and confirmed by a source from the "Grozneftegaz".

According to one of the sources from the "Rosneft", Igor Sechin and Ramzan Kadyrov agreed to withdraw obligations from the "Rosneft" to build an oil refinery in Chechnya. Instead, it was decided that the "Rosneft" would invest in the social infrastructure of the region, including construction of housing, with further transfer of part of newly constructed houses to municipal property. Meanwhile, the source refused to mention the volume of the investment.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.