Rosneft, investment consortium close on Essar Oil purchase

Rosneft PJSC and an investment consortium have each completed the purchase of 49.13% stakes in Essar Oil Ltd. The investment consortium is comprised of UCP Investment Group and Trafigura, a physical commodities trading group.

The $12.9-billion sale of 98.26% of Essar Oil was announced by controlling shareholders Essar Energy Holdings Ltd. and Oil Bidco (Mauritius) Ltd. Plans for the deal were announced in fall 2016 (OGJ Online, Oct. 17, 2016).

Essar Oil assets include the Vadinar refinery in the Indian state of Gujarat and a retail network of more than 3,500 Essar-branded fuel stations across India. Also part of the transaction are a deepwater port, storage terminals, and an electric power station.

The Vadinar refinery started commercial production in 2008. In 2012 it was expanded to 20 million tonnes/year and its Nelson complexity index increased to 11.8 from 6.1. The 97-m crude column is Asia’s tallest.

The refinery has been designed to handle a diverse range of crude. Heavy grades from Latin America account for more than half of all feedstock processed.