The representative of Rosneft does not comment on the results of the meeting; the representative of Ramzan Kadyrov and the presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov redirected RBC to the press service of Rosneft. “This is a corporate question, and Rosneft needs to ask it,” Peskov told RBC. Kadyrov's press secretary Alvi Karimov noted only that the meeting was “exceptionally fruitful.”

Grozneftegaz, which produces oil in Chechnya, is not Rosneft's most significant asset. In 2016, according to the Central Dispatch Department of the Fuel and Energy Complex, it produced only 170.7 thousand tons of oil, or 0.08% of Rosneft’s production for the year (210 million tons). Revenue regional company for 2015 amounted to 3.7 billion rubles, the loss was 171 million rubles, there are no more recent data.

The sale or preservation of this asset will not affect Rosneft’s business in any way; its size is too insignificant, states Raiffeisenbank analyst Andrey Polishchuk. Grozneftegaz’s production is falling, and now the main task is to support it, a company manager told RBC. This is difficult and expensive because deep wells need to be drilled, he explains. The cost of one well can reach up to 1.5 billion rubles, explains RBC’s source. It will be possible to produce oil in Chechnya for another six to seven years, and then the wells will be depleted, says Vladimir Rozhankovsky, leading analyst at Horizon Management Company. To continue production for another 14 years, it is necessary to invest about $1.5 billion, including in the purchase of equipment, he estimates.

“The history of the negotiations between Sechin and Kadyrov is very closed; we can only guess how they managed to conclude an agreement,” says Evgeniy Minchenko, director of the International Institute of Political Expertise. However, the head of Rosneft once again showed that he is one of the strongest in political sense figures, the political scientist believes: “There are people who can come to an agreement with Kadyrov—here you go, Sechin.”

Conflict of interest

Rosneft and Grozny have long been in a dispute over exactly how to divide Chechen oil assets, which are now owned by the Federal Property Management Agency and Rosneft and over which the republic has been fighting for control since the early 1990s. In December 2015, Ramzan Kadyrov asked Vladimir Putin to transfer Chechenneftekhimprom (100% of the shares from the Federal Property Management Agency) to the republic and received the president’s support, Kommersant wrote. Chechenneftekhimprom is needed by the Chechen authorities to use the funds raised to build an oil refinery in the republic, which “will provide additional taxes, jobs, not to mention the development of the oil industry,” explained Ramzan Kadyrov (quoted by TASS). “This will be a great success for our region,” he asserted.

Ramzan Kadyrov (Photo: Mikhail Metzel / TASS)

Later, Grozny also decided to build a plant for the production of lithium-ion batteries on the land plots of Chechenneftekhimprom (an agreement with the Korean KOKAM on this was signed in 2014). In January 2016, the Ministry of Energy and the FAS agreed on a draft order to transfer 100% of the company into the ownership of the republic, Interfax reported. However, the process was slowed down by Rosneft. The company leases most of the property of Chechenneftekhimprom, which is technologically connected with the assets of Grozneftegaz. The parties discussed for several months how to divide the property, and in August Rosneft offered to sell all the property of Chechenneftekhimprom to the republic along with all other Chechen assets of Rosneft, Kommersant wrote. Another option proposed by the company is to transfer to Chechnya land plot for the production of batteries, which does not have the equipment required by Grozneftegaz.

In 2017, PwC assessed Rosneft’s assets in Chechnya at 12.5 billion rubles, but this assessment outraged Kadyrov. The assets are “killed”, and the offer to pay 12.5 billion rubles for them. it looks “simply funny,” he said in an interview with Rossiya 24. In the same interview, Kadyrov recalled another unfulfilled promise of Rosneft - to build an oil refinery in the republic. Construction of the plant has been discussed since 2010, but has not yet begun. The construction of an oil refinery in the region is unprofitable for Rosneft and is only possible with co-financing from the budget; in return, Rosneft offered to build a cheaper bitumen plant.

Rosneft does not want to look at Chechnya “with open eyes” as a post-war region, although Sechin is a great politician and statesman“, Kadyrov said in an interview with Rossiya 24. “This attitude towards us is unfair, and we will seek justice,” he promised.

“We deeply understand that Ramzan Akhmatovich refers to the social problems of Chechnya, but we do not have the right to discount the value of assets to the detriment of the interests of our shareholders,” Rosneft representative Mikhail Leontyev told RBC. According to him, “the assets were assessed by the reputable company PwC and are fully consistent with their market value.”

Igor Sechin has always had this position: oil assets in Chechnya should remain with Rosneft, a source close to the head of Rosneft told RBC.

Another source in his circle knows about this. The federal center does not practice transferring local oil and gas assets to regions, so maintaining the presence of Rosneft in Chechnya is a general trend, says Vladimir Rozhankovsky. Grozny has long dreamed of concentrating oil assets in its hands and managing them, but assistance from the federal budget more than covers the cash flows from the oil produced, says Sergei Pikin, director of the Energy Development Fund.

The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, and the head of Rosneft, Igor Sechin, reached an agreement that Rosneft will continue to operate in Chechnya and will not sell its regional assets to the republic. Their talks took place on April 19, after which each of them met separately with President Vladimir Putin. RBC reported this on April 25

Rosneft, the press service of the head of Chechnya and the Kremlin did not comment on the results of the negotiations, the publication emphasizes.

Related materials

Initially, Kadyrov insisted that Rosneft hand over its regional assets, the largest of which is Grozneftegaz. Sechin refused such a deal. As RBC clarifies, citing its own sources, Sechin and Kadyrov also agreed to remove obligations from Rosneft to build an oil refinery in Chechnya.

The publication’s source emphasized that Sechin always objected to the transfer of full control over Rosneft’s assets in the republic to the Chechen authorities.

In addition, the parties agreed that Rosneft will invest in the social infrastructure of the region, including building housing, and transfer part of it to municipal ownership. The volume of these investments is not known.

Grozneftegaz produced only 170.7 thousand tons of oil in 2016, or 0.08% of Rosneft’s production for the year (210 million tons). The regional company's revenue for 2015 amounted to 3.7 billion rubles, the loss was 171 million rubles.

April 12 British newspaper Financial Times reported, citing sources close to Rosneft, about the conflict around Rosneft’s assets in Chechnya. Kadyrov wanted the Russian Government to “transfer” this property to Chechnya, and Sechin offered to buy them back for 12.5 billion rubles.

“He [Kadyrov] is a pretty scary guy, but so is Igor Ivanovich [Sechin]. Igor Ivanovich is not the kind of person who can be intimidated by Kadyrov’s words,” an interlocutor familiar with the progress of negotiations on the sale of Chechen assets to Rosneft told FT.

According to the newspaper's source, the conflict between Kadyrov and Sechin is so deep that the Investigative Committee was brought in to “search for a Chechen trace” in the investigation of the explosion in the metro in St. Petersburg.

In response to this article, Sechin and Kadyrov jointly threatened the newspaper with a lawsuit.

In December 2015, it became known that Russian President Vladimir Putin supported Kadyrov’s proposal to transfer to Chechnya the Chechenneftekhimprom (ChNHP) enterprise owned by the Federal Property Management Agency and managed by Rosneft. In April 2016, Kadyrov complained to Putin that, contrary to the instructions of the head of state, the government had not made a decision to transfer ChNHP to the region.

In turn, Rosneft proposed another scheme for the transfer of property, under which Chechnya should receive a controlling stake in Grozneftegaz (a subsidiary of Rosneft, which operates on leased assets of ChNHP) and other property of the company in exchange for payment to Rosneft » 12.5 billion rubles.

On March 30, Ramzan Kadyrov, in an interview with the Rossiya-24 TV channel, said that the management of Rosneft treats Chechnya unfairly. In his opinion, the price for selling to the republic a 51% share of Grozneftegaz and other Rosneft property in the region is too high.

“What they are offering us for 12.5 billion rubles is ridiculous, the price is too high. I don't know what their management thinks. I defend the interests of the region. Their treatment of us is unfair. We will seek justice,” TASS quotes Kadyrov as saying. The company, according to the head of the republic, “does not want to look at Chechnya with open eyes.”

“Sechin came to business from big politics and could look at the Chechen Republic as a post-war region that is just building its economy,” Kadyrov said.

“In fact, if I voice such questions today, tomorrow they will start: “Oh, Kadyrov is against Rosneft, let’s put pressure on him.” full program" But I defend the interests of the region and the people,” Kadyrov said.

The authoritarian system in Russia, which Russian President Vladimir Putin built over 17 years of rule, is showing signs of internal corrosion on the eve of the elections. The Financial Times newspaper writes about this. Amid uncertainty about the future, conflicts are breaking out in the highest echelons of power as influential figures in the Kremlin vie to become Putin's successor, the article says.

A certain "man, okay knowledgeable about the president" told FT reporters that the threat to the system does not come from opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is running for the presidency, but from within. It is expected that Navalny's ambitions will not deprive Putin of his chances of re-election. However, uncertainty about what will happen next "excites ambitions and provokes a crush among influential people in the Kremlin and throughout Russia,” writes the publication, quoted by InoPressa.

On the one hand, everything is stable, since everyone is confident that Putin will win the election again, on the other hand, everything is unstable “because everything rests on him,” a former senior official with close ties to the administration told the FT. The newspaper notes that the positions of some officials have been shaken, in particular, this concerns Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, whose position looks vulnerable after Navalny’s accusations of corruption against him and the March protests.

As an “extreme example of friction” among people close to Putin, the FT cites the conflict between Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and Rosneft head Igor Sechin, which occurred in connection with the discussion of the sale of the company’s Chechen assets to local authorities.

Talks about the sale of local business to Rosneft to the government of Chechnya have angered Igor Sechin, the “cocky general director"the state oil company, against Kadyrov, the region's "belligerent leader," write the article's authors, Catherine Hill and Henry Foy.

A person aware of the negotiations between the parties called Kadyrov "a pretty scary guy." But Igor Sechin is the same, the source noted, adding that the head of Rosneft “is not the guy who will be afraid of Kadyrov’s words.”

According to another source close to Rosneft, the clash between the parties has reached such an escalation that there is a need to investigate whether there is a “Chechen trace” in the terrorist attack that occurred on April 3 in St. Petersburg, during which 14 people were killed, writes FT.

In February, Rosneft presented the Ministry of Economic Development with a plan for the sale of its Chechen oil assets. The state-owned company wants to sell 51% of Grozneftegaz to Chechnya and the rest of its property in the region - the assets of Chechenneftekhimprom, owned by the Federal Property Management Agency. Rosneft estimated the value of these assets at 12.5 billion rubles. Kadyrov called this price “ridiculous” and “inflated.” “I defend the interests of the region. Their attitude towards us is unfair. We will seek justice,” the Chechen leader said at the end of March.

Mass protests took place throughout Russia under the slogan “He is not Dimon to us” on March 26. Their participants called for an investigation into the activities of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. On March 2, Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation published an investigation, “He’s Not Dimon to You,” dedicated to the “secret empire” of the head of government, allegedly built on “donations” from oligarchs and loans from state banks. In many cities, rallies that were not coordinated with the authorities resulted in arrests. In particular, more than a thousand people were detained in Moscow, including the initiator of the actions, Navalny.

The heroes of the publication are going to sue the newspaper.

The Financial Times, citing sources, reported a conflict between Rosneft Chief Executive Officer Igor Sechin and the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov. This is stated in an article by two authors from the publication’s policy department. The newspaper cited the friction between Sechin and Kadyrov as one example of the confrontation between serious players inside the Kremlin and throughout Russia, the struggle between whom and whose ambitions, according to sources, threaten the power of Vladimir Putin more than Alexei Navalny.

After the FT article was published on April 12, Rosneft published a joint statement by Sechin and Kadyrov, saying that they would consider “the prospects of filing a lawsuit in the courts of various jurisdictions” against the publication in connection with “deliberately unsubstantiated and deliberate lies.”

“It is surprising that one of the world’s leading business publications, which is the FT, takes part in serving the provocations of criminal elements of the so-called “opposition”, who are trying to project their well-known gangster experience onto the relationship between the republic and the largest Russian corporation,” the statement says. These “false fabrications,” noted in the document, were immediately replicated by “resources financed by Khodorkovsky’s structures.”

“We declare that we are connected by long-term and multilateral respectful business and human relations. We constructively resolve all issues that arise during the process. collaboration questions,” Sechin and Kadyrov said. The statement was duplicated on the website of the head and government of Chechnya.

“The threat comes not from Navalny, but from within,” said one source who knows the president well. The FT notes signs of internal corrosion in the system Putin has built over 17 years. The ambitions and claims of system participants began to grow due to the uncertainty of the future, the newspaper believes. According to a former high-ranking official who has maintained close ties with the Kremlin, the situation, on the one hand, is still stable, because everyone knows that Putin “will run for another term and, of course, will win the elections,” but, on the other hand, it is unstable, because everything depends only on him. By the end of his new six-year presidential term, Putin will be 71, and there is still no plan for a successor.

FT calls Sechin “quarrelsome” and Kadyrov “belligerent”. “He (Kadyrov - Vedomosti) is quite a scary guy, but so is Igor Ivanovich,” said the publication’s source, informed about the negotiations between the parties. “Igor Ivanovich is not someone who can be intimidated by Kadyrov’s words.” A source close to Rosneft added that the conflict flared up to the point that it became necessary to check whether there was a “Chechen trace” in the terrorist attack in the St. Petersburg metro.

"Sechin vs. Kadyrov. Alien vs Predator. In this fight, I’m rooting for any and every powerful blow,” former Yukos head Mikhail Khodorkovsky commented on the publication.

Putin can either groom the president's successor or follow in Yeltsin's footsteps and try out potential candidates for the post of prime minister, a source familiar with the matter told the FT. Russian leader. Among the possible successors, according to the newspaper, are not only Dmitry Medvedev, whose positions have recently looked vulnerable, but also the first deputy head of the presidential administration Sergei Kiriyenko, the minister economic development Maxim Oreshkin. The publication notes that Putin is “casting his net wide,” recalling that in the last two years the president has replaced many heavyweights in the government, administration and regions with young people who owe their career growth to him. “Those who prove loyal and effective will be able to be shortlisted as successors,” said a former senior official.

The newspaper calls the friction between Kadyrov and Sechin an “extreme example” of a conflict of interests between pro-Putin players. On March 30, the head of Chechnya called the price at which Rosneft offered to sell Chechnya a 51% share of Grozneftegaz and other property in this republic (12.5 billion rubles) inflated. “I don’t know what their management thinks. I defend the interests of the region. Their treatment of us is unfair. We will seek justice,” he said in an interview with the Rossiya 24 TV channel. “Sechin came to business from big politics and could look at Chechen Republic as a post-war region that is just building its economy,” he added. Then the vice-president of Rosneft, Mikhail Leontyev, told the radio “Moscow Speaks” that he did not know what Kadyrov meant and that he could not comment on things he did not understand.

The newspaper considers criticism of the federal government from the president of Tatarstan and the Kaluga governor to be other examples of conflicts. Regional administrations are becoming less obedient due to the fact that with low oil prices, Russian state budget revenues have decreased, the publication notes.

The development of two Chechen fields in favor of Rosneft is temporarily closing the question of the claims of the Chechen authorities to the state corporation headed by Igor Sechin.

Based on the results of the auction, for 25 years at two sites in Chechnya - Bamutsko-Datykhsky (in the Achkhoy-Martanovsky and Urus-Martansky districts) and Predgornysky (in the Urus-Martansky, Grozny and Shalinsky districts) - Rosneft will develop and extract minerals . It's about about 6-7 million tons of oil. The company paid 8.2 million rubles for the development of these areas, but on average it will receive 2.5 billion rubles for the sale of 7 million tons of oil.

In addition to these areas, Rosneft's subsidiary in Chechnya, Chechenneftekhimprom (ChNHP), acquired a license for another field - the Yuzhno-Suvorovsky area, which cost them 37 million rubles.

“Their attitude towards us is unfair. We will seek justice,” Kadyrov said.

The conflict developed permanently over many years. In September 2016, the Russian Ministry of Economic Development supported Rosneft’s proposal to completely withdraw from its assets in the Chechen Republic.

Rosneft insisted that the government consider its option for dividing Chechen oil assets, within the framework of which 51% of Grozneftegaz would go to Chechnya, the press reported.

“What they are offering us for 12.5 billion rubles is ridiculous, the price is too high. I don’t know what their management thinks. I defend the interests of the region. Their attitude towards us is unfair. We will seek justice,” said the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov.

Rosneft will retain its assets in Chechnya and will remain operating in the republic. This was the real result of the meeting between Sechin and Kadyrov, on April 19 in Moscow, in agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin. As the events of the last two weeks show, the issue has been completely resolved in favor of Rosneft and Kadyrov has been asked to take this for granted.

Data from the auction show that the Chechen leadership abandoned claims to full control oil production in the republic. It is clear that the issue of the oil plant, the construction of which Kadyrov sought in recent years ten, is removed from the agenda by the Chechen leadership.

“We came to an agreement with Igor Ivanovich [Sechin]. There were certain misunderstandings. As I understand it, the management of Rosneft did not understand what we want. Today we found a common language,” said Ramzan Kadyrov at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin April 19, 2017

As the events of the last two weeks show, the issue has been completely resolved in favor of Rosneft, and Kadyrov has been asked to take this for granted.

"Kavkaz.Realii" asked the leading expert of the National Energy Security Fund, teacher, to clarify the situation with the agreements between Kadyrov and Sechin Financial University under the government of the Russian Federation Igor Yushkov.

“The final decision in the dispute between Sechin and Kadyrov was still made in favor of the head of Rosneft,” says Yushkov. “As you can see, the main demands of the leadership of Chechnya have not been satisfied: the refinery (oil refinery) is neither Rosneft nor Chechnya itself with money from the federal center they won't build."

According to the expert, “the idea of ​​the Chechen leadership was precisely this - to get the refinery with funds from the state budget or Rosneft.” Both sides of the dispute offered Putin, as the supreme arbiter, their projects. The President tried to soften the decision for Kadyrov - Rosneft promised to build infrastructure facilities in the republic and real estate. Apparently, Putin deliberately went to implement some of the ideas stated by Kadyrov: creating real estate, improving the lives of the population."