Rosneft CEO Asks Putin to Meet With Privatization Deal Participants

Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin has asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet with the participants of the deal to privatize 19.5 percent of Rosneft shares - Glencore, the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and the Intesa bank.

NOVO-OGARYOVO (Sputnik) — He said Rosneft was planning new projects with the participation of these companies.

"I would like to ask you to meet investors — participants of the privatization transaction, these are our partners from the Italian bank Intesa, the Qatar Investment Authority and Glencore — to emphasize the importance of this transaction," Sechin said at a meeting with Putin.

Rosneft produced 210 million metric tonnes in 2016, with 67 billion cubic meters of gas, Sechin told Putin.

"We added approximately 4 percent of production, and the overall liquid equivalent for the year totaled 265 million tonnes. This is a record figure for the company. At the same time, oil production amounted to 210 million tonnes, and 67 billion cubic meters of gas."

Total investment amounted 750 billion rubles ($12.6 million), Sechin said in remarks quoted by the Kremlin website, mostly aimed at increasing drilling in Western Siberia and on new projects.

Rosneft plans to ramp up its investment program to 1.1 trillion rubles this year and 1.3 trillion rubles in 2018, he added.

Other plans for 2017 outlined by Sechin include increasing oil deliveries to China to 31 million tonnes this year