Russia: Rosneft to sell gas stations after Bashneft purchase
Russian fuel retailer Rosneft needs to reduce the number of gas stations in some regions after acquiring Bashneft.
After purchasing the newly privatized oil company Bashneft, Rosneft will not oppose reducing the number of gas stations in those Russian regions where the company exceeds a 50% market share, according to news agency TASS.
The Head of the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS), Igor Artemyev, confirmed that Rosneft will sell some of its gas stations in order not to control more than half of the market. The acquisition of Bashneft went ahead because the combined national assets did not exceed the 50% share, only in some regions such as Tatarstan and Bashkiria.
In October of last year, Rosneft closed a deal to buy 50.08% of state-controlled Bashneft 329.7 billion rubles rubles ($5.7 billion). The company owns three oil refineries, operates around 140 oil and gas fields, and a fuel retailing network with over 100 gas stations.
