An oil-producing asset in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug associated with the infamous ex-owner of Yugra Bank Alexei Khotin and the Rus-Oil holding, “may stop operations in the near future.”
Experts see such a future for Negusneft after the arrest imposed by bailiffs on the sale of hydrocarbon raw materials. These actions, according to the publication’s sources, will lead the company into a deep financial crisis for almost two more years, which “will lose several hundred million every month.” In parallel with these events, Rospotrebnadzor, Rosprirodnadzor and prosecutors became actively interested in the activities of the oilmen. According to the forecasts of market participants, inspections of controllers may result in new fines, litigation, and even likely criminal law prospects. At the same time, the Federal Tax Service revealed new facts of underestimation of expenses by Negusneft due to the “construction of non-existent facilities for 300 million rubles and the reduction of VAT.” According to the materials of the court, gas turbine units were installed at the facility, which had previously been involved in a conflict over the forgery of reports on the utilization of associated petroleum gas by another asset of Rus-Oil, Kayum Neft. While the Federal Tax Service is focused on the return of funds, and the beneficiaries of Negusneft are on the preservation of the company, observers are waiting for new actions from the ICR and the prosecutor’s office.
The Office of the Federal Bailiff Service for Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug imposed a ban on the shipment of hydrocarbons by Negusneft JSC. The decision was made on the basis of enforcement proceedings for a total amount of 3.4 billion rubles.
According to sources, this is exactly the volume of requirements the Federal Tax Service presented to the oilmen, which were confirmed in the courts. The company has already tried to challenge the actions of the bailiffs in arbitration, but the proceedings have already been terminated due to the organization’s refusal to comply with the stated requirements.
Meanwhile, an arrest to sell oil, according to analysts, can literally destroy the company, which, apparently, “is left without money for almost two years.”
“About a day, its production is 300 tons. This is about 10,000 tons per month, or 74,000 barrels. Approximately, if we count at the rate of 1 barrel is equal to 94 dollars, the company’s income from sales is at the level of 530 million rubles. After taxes and current payments, 200-250 million remain. Another 100 million are spent on servicing the loan, plus old court debts. How can an oil company survive on this residue?! Of course, this calculation is rough, but even offhand it is clear that with liabilities of 3.4 billion rubles, the asset will not have money for at least two years, ”the sources of the publication who are familiar with the situation in the company argue in detail.
The situation is aggravated by the fact that Negusneft today has practically no opportunity to ensure the supply of hydrocarbons to the Transneft pipeline.
“For quite a long time there was no direct pumping of oil into the pipeline. Everything was done by machines. So far, the carrier has not accumulated debts. At present, the tank farm is being filled, and without the delivery and removal of containers, it will last for 1-1.5 months. Then just stop. At the same time, one must understand that there will be fines from Transneft Siberia for broken supply contracts, ”specialists suggest a possible course of events.
Observers now call the existing scheme of exporting oil from the field by tanks illegal.
“There is already a fact of arrest of products – a ban on the sale until the repayment of debts to the Federal Tax Service. Export is a direct violation. The carrier is an accomplice. Of course, one can assume a scheme that the funds for the delivered oil will not go to the accounts of Negusneft, but to the fiscals. But this requires on-site control upon shipments. The ultimate beneficiaries, most likely, will not agree to this,” observers argue.
Recall that six months ago, interim measures were imposed on Negusneft JSC for the supply of hydrocarbon raw materials at the request of the Interdistrict Inspectorate of the Federal Tax Service of Russia for the largest taxpayers No. 3. Then the total amount of fiscal claims was about 460 million rubles. Among the arguments for the restrictions was the fact that the oil asset does not fulfill the obligation to make mandatory payments to the budget.
In addition, the tax authorities noted that in the course of bankruptcy proceedings of organizations belonging to the Rus-Oil group of companies, concealment of funds using settlement accounts of third parties was revealed.
Negusneft is not disregarded by the authorities that control the implementation by the oil company of environmental legislation and sanitary and epidemiological requirements. “The day before, the deposit facilities were checked by inspectors from Rospotrebnadzor. The second direction of enforcement of environmental legislation is unprocessed sludge,” the company’s employees believe.
In a conversation with Pravda UrFO, employees suggest that the history of the issue goes back to 2017, when Rosprirodnadzor employees discovered numerous violations during the development of sites.
“Then the inspectors found pits with unprocessed sludge, without a protective film, unauthorized dumps of household waste and construction debris near water bodies. We can say that the situation has not changed even today,” the interlocutors in the oil company comment on their understanding of the problem.
Photo: Dmitry Korotaev / Kommersant
And yet, observers argue that in the near future, Negusneft may also “wait for a revelation related to the history of the construction of an energy complex at the Varyngskoye field.”
It is noteworthy that, according to the materials of the court, two Ural-6000 gas turbine power plants were installed at the facility, which had previously appeared in the criminal case of Kayum Neft on forgery of associated petroleum gas utilization reporting.
“As in Urai, where the TFR, Rosprirodnadzor and prosecutors returned about 500 million rubles to the budget through a criminal case, Negusneft is likely to expect claims against the construction site, where URAL 6-000 units are involved. In litigation with the Federal Tax Service, among the violations are construction without permission from Rostekhnadzor, possible fraud with reporting in the amount of 300 million rubles, and much more, ”several interlocutors note the problem with the opinion.
At the same time, observers say that both topics – the creation of an energy center in Urai and the disposal of drill cuttings – could now be transferred from Kayum Neft to Negusneft at the suggestion of the owners of Rus-Oil.
