Vladimir Putin's former fellow student owns a stake in Antipino oil refinery.
The St Petersburg acquaintances of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin figure more and more prominently as owners of various businesses, especially in the oil and gas sector. Thus, RBC daily has been informed that Nikolai Egorov, Putin's former classmate, now professor of St Petersburg State University, is a shareholder in the New Stream group which owns the Antipino oil refinery. With such politically strong ties, the enterprise is likely to become the largest oil refinery in the Urals Federal District.
One of the shareholders of the New Stream group is Nikolai Egorov, a co-founder of the Egorov, Puginsky, Afanasiev & Partners law firm. According to a source close to New Stream, his share amounts to about 10 per cent. The two other major shareholders are Dmitry Mazurov, chairman of the Antipino refinery's board of directors (with a controlling stake in it), and Mikhail Bereshchansky, chairman of the company's committee for commercial activities. The refinery's website says that Egorov is deputy chairman of the refinery's board of directors and chairman of its legal committee.
Through his assistant Vera Zhuravleva, Egorov confirmed to RBC daily that he holds a 10 % stake in the Antipino oil refinery. He declined to comment on his relationship with Vladimir Putin or to answer a question as to whether he has other oil and gas assets. Maria Kovaleva, the refinery's press secretary, says Egorov is a co-shareholder in the refinery and in the New Stream group. She did not specify the distribution of shares in the company.
Nikolai Egorov graduated from the law department at Leningrad State University the same year as Vladimir Putin in 1975. Egorov is now a professor at this university and also practises law. He avoids contact with journalists who call him a "mysterious professor." Nevertheless, several years ago his name was mentioned frequently in the press. According to some sources, Egorov was locked in a battle with Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller for influence in Mezhregiongaz, a 100% subsidiary of Gazprom. As a result, Egorov's protege Nikolai Gornovsky headed that company in January 2002 (he resigned in February 2003). There were reports that Egorov stood behind the lawsuit against Yukos and its heads. In 2007, he was supposed to head Transneft, instead of Semyon Vainshtok.
He became known among lawyers in connection with some notorious court cases. Thus, he acted as the defendant's council in the case against Russian citizens charged by the court of Qatar with the assassination of Ichkeria's President Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev. He also pleaded the case of Samara Governor Konstantin Titov charged with abuse of office.
Others associated with Putin and the oil and gas business include Gennady Timchenko and Arkady Rotenberg. Timchenko has long been a success in business. His company, Gunvor, is one of Russia's largest oil and petrochemicals exporters. He has stakes in Novatek (20.8%) and Stroytransgaz (80%) and some other assets. Arkady Rotenberg, the Prime Minister's former judo partner, owns Stroygazmontazh, a leading Russian company in oil and gas construction. Earlier, RBC daily sources reported that Gazprom's drilling subsidiary Burgaz and its three construction companies - Spetsgazavtotrans, Surgutstroygaz and Tsentrgaz - may also go to Rotenberg.
The New Stream group surfaced only recently. It includes the Antipino oil refinery and a chain of gas stations in the Tyumen Region. The enterprise was set up in July 2004. Within three years, its capacity is projected to reach 7 million metric tons of oil a year and its oil conversion level to rise to 94%. The refinery enjoys strong support from the local government. Two weeks ago, nearly the entire leadership of the Urals Federal District attended the start-up ceremony of the second phase of the oil refinery. Its partners include such major oil traders as Glencore and Vitol, while international banks provided the funding for construction. The company plans to acquire oil-producing assets and facilities for export transhipment; build up its own logistic system and then to boost its processing capacities and develop a retail network of gas stations, Dmitry Mazurov, chairman of the oil refinery's board of directors, said recently in an interview with RBC daily.
It is extremely difficult to build an oil refinery in the region without support from the federal and local authorities, says Dmitry Abzalov, a leading expert at the Centre for Political Studies. He believes this is explained by the specifics of the Russian energy market where most plants are owned by vertically integrated oil companies.
"By attracting Nikolai Egorov as a shareholder, the company seeks to protect itself against risks and secure long-term investments, especially considering that major international banks participated in funding the project," Abzalov said.
By Galina Starinskaya
