Dutch oil giant Royal Dutch Shell is reportedly hoping to acquire the fuel retail network of bankrupt Russian oil company Yukos, as the Kremlin continues to auction off the company's property.
Reuters has cited the Vedomosti Russian daily publication as reporting that Shell hopes to acquire the lot, which includes more than 500 petrol stations. The starting price for the latest lot of Yukos assets is RUB7.7 billion ($299.3 million), Reuters said.
While Shell has declined to comment on the reports, Reuters has cited Maxim Shoob, Shell’s spokesman in Moscow, as saying: Russia is a strategic region for Shell’s growth both in the upstream and in the downstream. We are continuously assessing opportunities for growth, including in the retail sector.
According to Reuters, Shell has been hoping to establish a third project in Russia for some time. The Dutch oil company already has two upstream projects in the country.
Reuters cited Vedomosti as reporting that seven firms have put forward a deposit to take part in the auction. These include Russia’s Rosneft, which has already acquired a large number of Yukos assets in previous auctions, and BP’s Russian joint venture TNK-BP.