OAO Gazprom Neft (SIBN.RS) and Sibir Energy (SBE.LN) said Friday they had reached a deal over joint ownership and operation of the Moscow Refinery, ending a month-long dispute.
The companies have agreed to hand over shares in the Moscow Refinery, which the two companies own on a parity basis, to a Dutch registered holding vehicle, Moscow NPZ Holdings B.V.
The transfer will be completed in a few months and will result in Moscow NPZ Holdings controlling 90.02% of the voting shares of the Moscow Refinery, the companies said.
Gazprom Neft inherited the conflict with Sibir Energy over ownership of the refinery when it bought the oil company Sibneft from Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich in 2005.
The Moscow Refinery will be managed on a parity basis by a management team independent of both parties.
The companies said Tuesday they will soon begin modernizing the refinery. The upgrade should be finished in 2012, allowing the refinery to produce larger volumes of higher margin light oil products.