Rosneft to invest $18 billion in old refineries

Russia's state oil company Rosneft plans to spend $18 billion on its refinery infrastructure over the next three years, a report said Saturday after the company's chief met with investors. The oil company unveiled a $25 billion programme to modernise its Soviet-era refineries, Interfax news agency reported, quoting data given by Rosneft president Igor Sechin to investors in London. Sechin said $7 billion has already been spent on its refineries, and another $18 billion will be invested in their modernisation before the year 2016. The programme will make it possible to raise the share of light oil products from 56 percent to 78 percent of output, he was quoted as saying. Rosneft has also applied to acquire licences to exploit for 14 new offshore deposits, to add to the 29 it already controls, the presentation said. The company invested $500 million into new offshore projects in 2012, it said. The London presentation by Rosneft, Russia's largest oil firm, is seen as an attempt to attract foreign capital to buy British giant BP out of its Russian venture TNK-BP, a stake Sechin has called "very interesting". Competing with the state company for the 50 percent stake are TNK-BP's current Russian co-owners AAR, a group of tycoons who say they are preparing to make a bid to assume full control of the company, Russia's third largest oil producer. BP has expressed keen interest in staying in Russia after it leaves TNK-BP and Rosneft is negotiating a share swap that could lead to joint exploration in the Arctic and other coveted offshore fields. BP and Rosneft in 2011 agreed a historic deal to tap Russia's vast Arctic energy resources which would have seen the British firm acquire 9.5 percent in the Russian giant and Rosneft 5.0 percent in BP. However that deal collapsed after objections by the TNK-BP oligarch shareholders and the Arctic tie-up eventually went to ExxonMobil.