Transneft finds a buyer for its risky Ukrainian assets

A little-known Swiss company wants to buy the disputed Ukrainian oil pipelines of Transneft, for which the state-owned company is at law with the local authorities for four years. Now the pumping of diesel fuel via these pipes is stopped, and, according to analysts, Transneft will be glad to get rid of the troubled asset. But the Kommersant’s sources in the industry point out that without guarantees of provision of the pipes with Russian fuel the price of the asset will be minimal.

The Swiss company International Trading Partners AG has filed a petition to the Federal Antimonopoly Service to purchase Southwest Transnefteprodukt - a subsidiary of Transneft, the Service reports. Southwest Transnefteprodukt belongs to Prikarpatzapadtrans, which owns the main pipeline in the Ukraine, via which diesel fuel from Russia is supplied to Central Europe. The FAS notes that Southwest Transnefteprodukt is a strategic company and its sale requires the consent of the government commission on foreign investment, so the Service delayed the decision making. Transneft declined to comment.