Timchenko to FT: 'Surgutneftegas not even one of our top 10 counterparties'
MOSCOW. Nov 14 (Interfax) - Soviet-born billionaire Gennady Timchenko disputed the claims made about his business dealings with Surgutneftegas in a recent article in the Financial Times, saying in a November 13 letter to the editor that "over the recent years, Surgutneftegas has not been even one of our top 10 counterparties."
"Surgutneftegas only ever traded with companies in which I hold an investment because of the considerable logistical advantages they offered - a fact that can be supported by many in the market," Timchenko said in the letter, which responds to an October 24 article entitled "Russian puzzle proves hard to crack" by Charles Clover.
Timchenko confirmed that he owns less than 0.01% of Surgutneftegas shares "acquired as a personal financial investment."
"It affords me nothing more than customary investment returns," Timchenko said in the letter.
Aside from his 44% stake in leading oil trading company Gunvor, Timchenko owned 51% of Surgutex LLC, which markets oil products from Surgutneftegas' Kirishi Oil Refinery, as of July 2012. Timchenko also owns 50% of IPP Refined Petroleum Products (International Petroleum Product), which delivers crude oil and oil products to Scandinavia.
Surgutneftegas accounted for 3.4% of the oil Gunvor purchased in 2010, according to the oil trader's financial report. However, Surgutneftegas was not among Gunvor's top 10 oil sources in 2011-2012.
Rosneft was Gunvor's biggest supplier last year, accounting for 11% of the company's oil purchases, although that share has been declining steadily. Gunvor has said it plans to reduce the amount of crude oil it buys in favor of oil products. Timchenko said previously that none of Gunvor's bids in the most recent tenders for Rosneft crude had been satisfied, because Timchenko felt the offer price was too high. However, the company continues to export Rosneft's refined product, including fuel oil.
Timchenko began his career at the Izhorsky Plant in Leningrad. He was a senior engineer with the Soviet External Trade Ministry in 1982-1988, becoming vice president for the Kirishineftekhimexport state enterprise, a unit of the Kirishi oil refinery, in 1988. He moved to Urals-Finland, a company specializing in crude oil and products trading, in 1991. He was managing director of IPP OY Finland and IPP AB Sweden in 1994-2001.
Timchenko became a Gunvor co-owner in 1997. He owns stakes in a host of trading, logistical and transportation companies.