Investment company Zoltav Resources Inc., 45% owned by Arkady Abramovich's ARA Capital fund, announced the purchase of control in CenGeo. The latter, through CJSC Siberian Geological Company, owns a license for the Koltogorskoye oil field (reserves of 35.5 million tons). The seller is Bandbear, a company controlled by Valentin Bukhtoyarov (one of the co-owners and vice president of finance of the Sibuglemet holding).

Zoltav announced that it would pay for the purchase of the CenGeo stake with its own new shares worth $26 million. As a result, Bukhtoyarov will become the owner of 29.1% of the company's shares. ARA Capital will retain a 45% stake - it will pay $20 million for the shares, which will go towards the development of Koltogor.

"This is a great first investment for the company," which will allow it to expand its presence in the industry, Zoltav quotes CEO and Chairman of the Board Simon Drake-Brockman as saying. The company will gradually transform from an investment company into a production company, the statement emphasizes. Bukhtoyarov could not be reached for comment yesterday.

The Siberian Geological Company was acquired by CenGeo in February of this year – it bought it from Gazprom Neft. A Gazprom Neft representative told Vedomosti that the company gained control over the Siberian Geological Company after consolidating the assets of Sibir Energy. “However, due to the remoteness of the Koltogorsky block from other assets, Gazprom Neft decided to focus on other projects,” the source said. He did not disclose the amount of the deal.

The Koltogorskoye field (reserves of 35.5 million tons) is located near Samotlor, notes Grigory Birg, co-director of the analytical department of Investcafe. "Based on the terms of the deal, the field's reserves were estimated at $0.1 per barrel," the expert calculated. According to him, this is cheap for a large field in Western Siberia, a region with a well-developed infrastructure. The estimate of Dmitry Lukashov, an analyst at IFC Solid, is higher - $0.18 per barrel. "This is very profitable, but there is a risk that the reserves may be less than expected. Perhaps that is why the price is so low - much less than last year's state auctions," the source notes. Last year, Lukoil paid $1.2 per barrel of reserves at the auction for the Imilorskoye field.

The 19-year-old son of Roman Abramovich is actively increasing the portfolio of the fund that he inherited before he came of age. In 2011, he bought 26% of Crosby Asset Management, a company specializing in energy investments, for 3 million pounds, and ARA Capital consolidated 40% of Zoltav. Both companies are actively investing in the development of the subsoil of Australia, North and South America.

Abramovich's Siberian Oil