Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered Nefteservisnie Tekhnologii to acquire the Russian assets of American oilfield services provider Baker Hughes, reported Reuters.
In March 2022, Baker Hughes decided to halt new investments in Russia after sanctions were imposed on the country by the Western countries in response to its invasion of Ukraine.
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In August, Baker Hughes agreed to offload its oilfield services (OFS) business in Russia to its local management team.
At that time, the oilfield services firm said the new business would be operated independently. It will take up all the exiting Russian OFS liabilities, assets, and commercial obligations.
In a separate announcement, Russian oil producer Lukoil has rejected an offer to divest its ISAB refinery in Sicily, Italy, to US-based Crossbridge Energy Partners, the Financial Times reported, citing undisclosed sources.
Commodities trading giant Vitol was looking to offer credit to private equity firm Crossbridge to fund the potential deal to acquire the refinery.
Lukoil is considering retaining its Italian refinery, which is also being scrutinised by the Italian government to prevent potential job cuts and reduced fuel production in the country, reported Reuters, citing Industry Minister Aldo Urso.
Lukoil’s ISAB refinery, which directly employs 1,000 people, is said to account for approximately 20% of the refining capacity in the European country.
It has been forced to only depend on Russian oil due to the halting of financing by creditor banks and guarantees required to purchase oil from alternative sources.
Italy is considering ways to continue operations of the refinery, despite new sanctions against Russia that would be imposed next month.
