Tatneft loves silence

The financing scheme for the construction of the Nizhnekamsk petrochemical complex is still opaque

Tatneft yesterday spoke about plans to implement the construction project of the Nizhnekamsk petrochemical complex, but did not present a scheme for its financing. According to the company, the total cost of the project will reach 130.3 billion rubles, of which 16.5 billion, intended for infrastructure development, is expected to be received from the Russian investment fund. According to the deputy general director of Tatneft, Azat Yagafarov, “the banks that arrange the financing - BNP Paribas and Zenit (affiliated with Tatneft - Ed. ) are actively working to develop a financing scheme; most likely, the option of project financing will be chosen " He clarified that the scheme could be ready at the beginning of next year, and the loan received at the end of 2007. It is expected that the Nizhnekamsk Refinery will attract financing - this enterprise was founded a year ago by Tatneft and Svyazinvestneftekhim (100% owned by the government of Tatarstan).

According to the project, after full completion of construction in 2010, the complex with a capacity of 7 million tons per year will consist of two oil refineries and one petrochemical plant for processing high-sulfur oil. As Mr. Yagafarov noted, the only supplier of oil to the plant will be Tatneft. According to plans, the plants will annually produce up to 850 thousand tons of gasoline, 2.5 million tons of diesel fuel, 500 thousand tons of jet fuel and other petrochemical products. At the same time, as the head of the Nizhnekamsk Refinery Khamza Bagmanov said, gasoline and jet fuel will go to the domestic market of Tatarstan, and diesel fuel will be mainly exported. “We specifically set European standards - Euro-5, in order to be able to export it (diesel fuel - Ed. ) almost completely," he said. According to Tatneft's calculations, the complex can pay for itself in just six and a half years with an internal rate of return of 11.3%. According to Mr. Yagafarov, after the completion of construction of the complex, infrastructure facilities (oil pipeline and oil product pipeline, as well as a railway line) will be transferred through an additional issue to the balance sheet of the corresponding state monopolies - Transneft, Transnefteproduct and Russian Railways.

Tatneft will own only 40% of the complex. The remaining shares will be shared by Tataria and a certain collective investment fund. However, Mr. Yagafarov claims, the main shareholder of this fund is Tatneft itself: “So the company will most likely have a controlling stake,” he clarified.

The financial side of the project is still unclear. As Mr. Bagmanov emphasized, the cost of the project is 130.3 billion rubles. is not final. “The budget will still change as the expanded construction project is developed,” he noted. In his opinion, at the stage of detailing the project, the cost of construction can be adjusted “plus or minus 10%.” “More accurate data will be available after the tender for design, supply and construction, which will be announced early next year,” noted the head of the Nizhnekamsk Refinery. Mr. Bagmanov did not specify when this tender will be completed.

However, according to him, by the end of this year it is planned to disburse about 5 billion rubles, and next year Tatneft will provide the complex with a loan of 40 billion rubles. “These funds can be refinanced using a loan, this may be provided for by the scheme being developed,” Mr. Yagafarov clarified. As analysts note, the loan rate could be about 8%. “Tatneft does not have a very long credit history,” Veles Capital analyst Mikhail Zak explains this figure.

Many experts and analysts reproached the opacity of the financing scheme for the construction of the Nizhnekamsk Refinery of Tatneft. “The lack of clarity regarding the financing of a major project” was one of the reasons for the withdrawal of the rating by Standard & Poor's in August of this year. Moreover, as Vremya Novostei expert Elena Anankina reported, the company has not yet applied to S&P with a request to re-award the rating. In September, Tatneft board member Vladlen Voskoboynikov promised that the company “within one or two months will make a statement on the structure of financing the construction of a complex of oil refineries in Nizhnekamsk.” But, as you can see, Zenit and BNP experts still do not have enough time for this.

Anna GORSHKOVA