Gazprom Neft - History

History

Gazprom Neft was created under the name Sibneft (Russian: Сибнефть) in 1995 by the transfer of state owned shares in Noyabrskneftegas (production unit), the Omsk Refinery (Russia's largest oil refining complex), Noyabrskneftegasgeophysica (exploration) and Omsknefteprodukt (oil products distribution network) from Rosneft.

In 1996 and 1997, Sibneft was privatised through a series of loans-for-shares auctions. Roman Abramovich and Boris Berezovsky acquired the company for US$100 million, after bidding through several front companies that had been set up for this specific purpose. Initially controlled by Berezovsky, Sibneft later came under the control of Abramovich.

Sibneft twice unsuccessfully attempted a merger with Yukos that would have created Russia's largest oil company, YukosSibneft. The first attempt in 1998 failed over a management dispute, while second time round Sibneft's shareholders called off the deal in November 2003 after the federal government cracked down on Yukos despite the process already being well under way.

In September 2005, Gazprom bought 75.7% of Sibneft's shares from Millhouse Capital (Roman Abramovich’s investment vehicle) for US$13.1 billion in Russia's largest corporate takeover. In May 2006, Sibneft was renamed Gazprom Neft.

In 2006 Alexander Dyukov was elected as CEO of the company and in 2008 he also appointed Chairman of the Management Board. His contract was extended for a further five years in December 2011.

In 2011 Berezovsky brought a civil case against Abramovich in the High Court of Justice in London, accusing Abramovich of blackmail and breach of contract over the privatisation of Sibneft, claiming that he had been a co-owner of Sibneft and seeking over £3 billion in damages. This became the largest civil court case in British legal history. The court dismissed the lawsuit, concluding "that the sum of $1.3 billion paid by Mr. Abramovich to Mr. Berezovsky and Mr. Patarkatsishvili did not represent the sale price of Mr. Berezovsky’s and Mr. Patarkatsishvili’s alleged Sibneft interest, but rather was a final lump sum payment in order to discharge what Mr. Abramovich regarded as his krysha obligations."