Mikhail Leontyev to Vestnik Kavkaza: Rosneft's privatization helped budget

Partial privatization of Rosneft allowed to resolve key issue - compensate the deficit of Russian budget, Rosneft press secretary Mikhail Leontyev said in an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza, commenting on the privatization of 19.5% of corporation shares by Glencore company and Qatar sovereign fund. 

"We have completed our main task - transferred money to budget, compensating its critical deficit. Basically, those money covered budget deficit, and it happened in the most delicate and beneficial way for the budget. This was the main motivation for privatization of the company in conditions of very difficult external conjuncture," he noted.

Speaking about expectations from this privatization he said that these investors correspond to company's strategy. "Glencore is a global oil trader, which will provide us with a strong position in the market in conditions of volatility, as well as long-term contracts and presence in a variety of markets. Qatar sovereign fund has serious financial capabilities," he explained.

"It allows us to believe that this is a beginning of cooperation process, so both Rosneft and Russia will benefit from this deal," he stressed.

He also drew attention to political significance of this deal. "This is an important precedent: in the conditions of sanctions the company managed to get funding and implement this deal despite existing risks," he said.

"As for the consequences for the company, we can already see them: company's shares rose by 7% to all-time highs," he concluded.