October 15, 2016
A deal in which a group led by Russian oil major Rosneft will acquire India’s Essar Oil has been specially structured to avoid falling foul of Western sanctions, Andrey Kostin, head of Russian lender VTB, told Reuters on Saturday.
India’s debt-laden Essar Group confirmed on Saturday it had agreed to sell a 98 percent interest in its Essar Oil unit to the consortium led by Rosneft, giving the Russian energy giant a gateway into the world’s fastest-growing fuel market. VTB acted as Essar’s adviser on the deal. Speaking to Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kostin said the purchase would not violate Western sanctions over Russia’s role in the Ukraine crisis because Rosneft will only acquire a 49 percent stake.