Gunvor sells Russia Baltic oil terminal to Transneft
Saturday, 12 Sep 2009
Reuters reported that Switzerland-based oil trader Gunvor has sold a crude oil terminal under construction in the Russian Baltic Sea port of Ust Luga to Russia's oil pipeline monopoly Transneft.
A Gunvor spokesman said the company had decided to sell the business but remained the owner of the existing oil product terminal in Ust Luga. He did not disclose financial details of the deal.
In June, Transneft started building a pipeline to Ust Luga with the official blessing of Russia's energy tsar Deputy Prime Minister Mr Igor Sechin.
Russia embarked on the project after a pricing dispute with Belarus and has said it would re route volumes from the Druzhba pipeline to Poland and Germany to the sea port.
Analysts have expressed doubts about Russia ability to produce enough crude to fill the USD 4 billion pipeline to the port and said it would have to make a difficult choice between cutting exports either to the Mediterranean, central Europe or even China.
