Russian oil giant Rosneft has deactivated its Lisichansk refinery in east Ukraine, Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin said.
“We are deactivating this plant for the time being. We have admitted part of the refinery’s personnel for work at Rosneft. Over 60 people have come to us”, Sechin said.
“Our decision is to preserve all assets”, Sechin said in response to a question about the refinery’s fate.
The Lisichansk refinery located in the Luhansk Region is Rosneft’s main oil processing facility in Ukraine. The refinery became part of Rosneft in 2012, after the Russian oil giant acquired the Russian-British joint oil venture TNK-BP.
The refinery’s previous owner closed the plant for planned repairs in March 2012 due to losses from oil refining in Ukraine. Rosneft planned to resume the refinery’s operation in the summer of 2014.
The Ukrainian new authorities announced plans in the spring of 2014 to nationalize the Lisichansk refinery. In addition to the Lisichansk refinery, Rosneft owns a network of 141 filling stations and oil depots in Ukraine. (TASS/Business World Magazine)