Rosneft has entered into definitive documentation to acquire a 49% stake in Petrocas Energy International, creating the joint venture (JV) for its activities in the South Caucasus region on the border of Eastern Europe and southwest Asia.
The deal represents an important growth opportunity for Rosneft – Petrocas owns and operates high-quality storage assets in one of the main oil and oil products logistics hub in the region. Through the JV Rosneft will expand its presence in the region, amplify its geographic reach, and further diversify its supply routes options. The JV equally allows Rosneft to deepen its participation in the oil products trading market of Central Asia and South Caucasus, regions with high growth potential. Finally, the deal is an opportunity for Rosneft to enhance Petrocas’ position in Georgia’s retail market by offering stable supply of quality products and services to end-customers.
Commenting on the signing, Rosneft head Igor Sechin said: ‘This joint venture provides Rosneft with new opportunities for its operations and will secure supplies under existing contracts, moreover it will allow us to expand supply, trading and logistics capabilities of the company. I am sure that this partnership will play a key role in the security of energy supplies of the region.’
David Iakobachvili, chairman of Petrocas, commented: ‘We are excited about the opportunities created by this JV. This transaction is an important endorsement of Petrocas’ success as a regional player that will bring the benefit to all of our stakeholders and is a new milestone that will highlight strategic importance of South Caucasian energy corridor.’
Petrocas is a regional player with focus on oil products logistics, trading and retail. It owns and operates an oil terminal located in the port of Poti, Georgia, which handles oil products and petrochemicals. Its trading activity is concentrated in the Caspian and Black Sea regions and operates the largest retail petroleum station chain in Georgia with 140 Gulf branded stations.
The company is headquartered in Cyprus and manages its operations from offices in Limassol, Tbilisi, and Moscow.
