Polar experiments of Tatneft turn into losses equal to 7 billion
Petroleum workers of Tatarstan planning bankruptcy of subsidiaries in Nenets Autonomous Okrug
As Realnoe Vremya found out, the Arbitration Court of Arkhangelsk Oblast sustained the claims of Tatneft equal to 6,7bn rubles towards its two subsidiaries: Severgasnefteprom PLC and Severgeologia PLC. Both organizations prospected for petroleum but did not live up to expectations of the parent company that probably hoped that the fields would be found and they would make a profit. As a logical continuance of the procedure of debt collection, which appeared from 2005 till 2014, Tatneft prepares a bankruptcy procedure of the companies.
Not to leave compatriots without attention in the North… But the compatriots do not appreciate it
On 2 December the Commercial Court of Arkhangelsk Oblast passed judgement in these two claims of Tatneft to Severgaznefteprom PLC and Severologia PLC, which were registered in Naryan-Mar. The correspondent of Realnoe Vremyadecided not to leave its native petroleum workers lonely in a strange land and attended the hearing.
There was a team from Kazan in the court of law that consisted of three lawyers at once: Alfiya Khafizova, Salavat Zalyaev and Marat Arslanov. They brought a heavy holdall full of documents concerning the case.
'From January 2005 till December 2014 there were signed 70 contracts with additional agreements between Tatneft OJSC and Severgeologia CJSC. The agreed deadline expired in March 2015. The defendant didn't pay off the sum,' said Alfiya Khafizova.
The hearing was open, but, nevertheless, the representatives of the petitioner tried to expel the correspondent of Realnoe Vremya through a petition to the court. 'The hearing is open. I don't see any reasons to reject the media. There is no trade secret, all materials of the case are in the public domain,' the judge answered.
This hearing cannot be called an ordinary one: petroleum workers from Tatarstan rarely try to get 6,7bn rubles from its subsidiaries.
Please hear the case in a day
What almost prolonged the trial was that the representatives of both defendants-'geologists' didn't appear. However, the lawyers of Tatneft quickly solved the problems.
Tatneft asked to recover 2,79bn rubles from Severgeologia and 3,93bn rubles from Severgaznefteprom that include ruble loans and currency credits (with fixed exchange rate), interest payments, fines and compensation of state legal charge, which cost Tatneft 400,000 rubles for both cases).
When the preliminary court hearing finished, the lawyers of Tatneft solicited to consider the case on its own merits on the same day. Irina Gulyaeva, the judge, expressed her opinion saying that the defendants were informed about the hearing, but the Court's rulings that were sent by post came back. It means that they didn't receive them. The rulings were addressed to their registered office in Naryan-Mar.
According to the lawyers, subsidiaries' offices, in fact, are located in Moscow. In Nenets Autonomous Okrug (NAO), they have only a representative where there is a person responsible for the post.
The judge offered to appoint the date to consider the case on its own merits. However, the representatives of Tatneft literally begged not to postpone the hearing but terminate everything in a day. To start with, they complained about two day's trip by car from Kazan to Arkhangelsk.
'Don't come here with such a big team then. What's the hurry? The sums are big. The defendant needs some time to think,' the judge parried.
Subsidiaries' bankruptcy ahead
The discussion concerning the continuance of the trial another day suddenly brought to the announcement of a quite curious fact. The representatives of 'Tatneft' stated that they have a plan on further actions after the judgement and that they needed to go home with the positive result. So, it was supposed that there would be a procedure of the subsidiaries' bankruptcy.
'And if the defendant wants to come under the Article 333? (Editor's Note: Article 333 of Civil Code of Russia: reduction of penalty),' said the judge disagreeing.
Then the lawyers presented a document regarding the correspondence of Tatneft with its subsidiaries. The defendants wrote that they knew about the existence of the lawsuit but couldn't pay that sum.
'As you can see, they know everything. For them, there is no point to come here. In particular, Vladimir Korolenko, their head, is in Tatarstan,' added Alfiya Khafizova.
They didn't have another source of income besides loans
But this argument didn't persuade the judge. In that case, the lawyers offered an elegant solution to the problem: they promised to give quickly an official document that would state that the subsidiaries wouldn't be against of considering the case on its own merits without their presence.
'Will you press them?' Irina Gulyaeva surprised.
'No, in any circumstances. We will just ask them,' the legal advisors answered.
The judge said that if they managed to do it, she wouldn't object, and adjourned for a break. The lawyers livened up. They started to do hither and thither along the corridor, call the defendants, conduct negotiations and discuss how to send the document: by mail or fax? They even thought to resend an MMS.
The act took about half an hour or more.
'That's it, they are sending a fax,' Salavat Zalyaev gaily reported Alfiya Khafizova.
The document was signed by Vladimir Korolenko, the head of Severgeologia and Severgaznefteprom.
All in all the lawyers succeeded: after the preliminary court hearing the judge announced the considering the case on its merits. During all four sessions, Irina Gulyaeva asked the lawyers five times why the companies had not been charged the debts earlier. In answer to it, they explained that the company didn't have another source of income; they existed by means of loans. They paid taxes and salaries, etc.
'The company continuously prolonged, made additional agreements and concessions. The administration was in correspondence with them. But, to tell the truth, even we don't understand why the subsidiaries had not been charged earlier,' said Alfiya Khafizova.
'Didn't they partially liquidize the debt?' asked the judge.
'They didn't pay a penny,' Alfiya Khafozova confirmed.
They explored fields but didn't find petroleum
According to Salavat Zalyaev who tried to explain the situation, petroleum recently cheapened a lot, and many oil business projects became unprofitable. It was supposed that after when the subsidiaries found petroleum, they would make a profit and pay off their debts. They explored fields but didn't find petroleum. Their result of production activity is negative. This is why it became unprofitable to continue these projects. But Tatneft has its own oil fields in Naryan-Mar.
At the court hearing, it was also said that the lawyers prepare documents to put the papers concerning bankruptcy of companies in order.
'The case is in the process. In the legislation, there are two ways of the write-off in future: to obtain a permission through the Court in order to get a document stating that they are not able to pay from bailiffs or bankruptcy,' Salavat Zalyayev noted.
At the same time, it is considered to preserve the licences of the subsidiaries.
Until now loans are given in order to fulfill the end-user licence agreement and carry out the work on agreements in Nenets Autonomous Okrug that are planned in winter,' explained Marat Arslanov.
Visiting the Nenets
To all appearances, underneath all story there are unsuccessful attempts of Tatneft to work outside Tatarstan. The history of collaboration with these 'northern' companies originates in 2002, when in Kalmykia Severgaznefteprom CJSC was registered that started to explore fields in Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The company had licences for three territories in the okrug: Tibeviyssky, Lyzatynsky and Vostochny Khayatinsky. According to the 'Gas and petroleum vertical' magazine, in the first two areas three appraisal wells in each were bored, and oil inflow was obtained. But in 2009 all these wells were put on the ice. In 2006, Tatneft purchased licences for three territories in the okrug – Podveryuisky, Severo-Khayatinsky and Khosoltinsky with total reserves of 11,6m tonnes of C1 category and 26,4m tonnes of C1+C2. Nevertheless, they had a misfortune: the commercial operation failed, and the assets were offered for sale in 2011. No one wanted to buy them, so they declared an intention to bore an appraisal well in Khosoltinsky Licence Block.
As for Severgeologia, here Tatneft held 50% of shares, and the second half belonged to Nikolay Bogachev, an entrepreneur. According to Forbes, he came from force structures, worked closely in the sphere of extraction of minerals worldwide. Tatneft and Bogachev's Joint Venture had a licence on prospecting, elaboration and extraction of petroleum in several blocks in Timan-Pechora – Zapadno-Yefremovsky and Yambotinsky lots. As 'Vedomosti' wrote, with proved reserves equal to 50m barrels the partners hoped to discover 6 times more.
Dame Fortune…
In 2010, it seemed that fortune smiled on the petroleum workers of Tatarstan, and there was discovered a field in Yambotinsky. However, as some specialized media wrote, 'according to the State Reserves Committee, these fields may be a part of neighbouring Titov's field whose licence at present belongs to Bashneft. It complicated the matter of ownership and spelt a big struggle between two companies.
In addition, in May 2014, the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resource Usage found violations of the licence agreement of both subsidiaries of Tatneft and initiated a work on revocation of the licence ahead of schedule. But as Vedomosti informed, in summer 2014 the claims were renounced. The licence expires on 30 January 2016. During the trial, Realnoe Vremya found out Tatneft was going to preserve its licences on prospect and extraction in these lots despite the bankruptcy of its subsidiaries.
At the beginning of 2014, Kommersant stated that Eduard Khudainatov, the ex-director general of Rosneft who tried to create a vertically integrated company on the basis of its own Nezavisimaya Neftegazovaya Compania (Independent Gas and Petroleum Company), paid attention to these assets of Tatneft in NAO. But it seems it didn't work.
They do well leaving these areas
As Renat Muslimov, the President's consultant on the elaboration of petrol and gas fields, told Realnoe Vremya, in conditions of low petroleum prices Tatneft's rejection to continue prospecting is a natural decision.
Prospecting is a risky business. This is why they worked there slowly, but it's not the right place to work in. They do well leaving these areas. The territories are scantily explored, they need many investments. It would be better to stop in time. Investments are necessary but today it is not the right time. Nowhere prospecting is popular now because every one saves money. First of all, money should be saved where prospecting is very risky.
Muslimov skeptically reacted to the information of the previous years when there were found successful petroleum fields. 'Whatever did they obtain there, I doubt whether they did, it would be published, but it means that inflow wasn't big,' he pointed out. In press service of Tatneft Realnoe Vremya asked to comment the process of the court examination and the newspaper was said that 'all information concerning the cases, according to procedural law, is available on sites of the corresponding agencies. In this case, in the Court of Arkhangelsk'.