Igor Yusfov looking to buy oil refinery near London - FT
LONDON. June 18 (Interfax) - Former Russian Energy Minister Igor Yusufov appears to be the sole contender for the purchase and continued operation of the bankrupt British oil refinery Coryton, which accounts for around 20% of the supplies of fuel to London and Southeast Asia, the Financial Times writes.
The British government had earlier declined to provide financial aide to the refinery, which had for four months negotiated unsuccessfully with possible buyers. The possibility of turning the plant into a storage facility had been looked at, but that would have meant many people would have lost their jobs.
PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which now manages the refinery, has neither confirmed nor denied Yusufov's interest in the refinery.
The refinery, located not far from London, boasts a modern terminal for the receipt of fuel and employs 850 people. It is one of five bankrupt oil refineries belonging to the Swiss company Petroplus.
Yusufov's involvement in the potential deal could raise political issues, the Financial Times writes. Yusufov is a co-owner of the fund Energiya.