RusEnergy

Oct. 04, 2006 Kommersant - Russia’s North-West Oil Group, NWOG, has become a majority holder in Creditline, a project operator to construct a refinery and petrochemical facilities in Syria. In NWOG, they hope to lure the RF Defense Ministry into the project, which worth exceeds $3.5 billion. NWOG’s hopes are well justified, as the military need a refinery in Syria to ensure continuous provision of fuel to the combat vessels in the Mediterranean Sea.
Russia’s North-West Oil Group, NWOG, has bought out 63 percent in Creditline, a project operator to construct a refinery and petrochemical facilities in Syria. The seller was Russia’s resident Nizami Piriev, who owns Creditline. The respective contract was sealed September 21.
Both NWOG and Creditline confirmed the information but declined to disclose the deal budget.
In February, Creditline won the tender in Syria to construct a refinery of 6.5 million tons annual capacity and 1.4-million ton petrochemical facilities there. The refinery will produce diesel fuel and directly distilled gasoline, while the petrochemical enterprise will focus on making olefin, benzol, polyethylene and polypropylene. The term of the project is five years, and its budget is estimated at $3.575 billion.
For a new holder of Creditline, the prime concern today is to lure authorities into the undertaking. NWOG General Director Yulia Sozina said, first of all, they see this project in light of strategic interests of Russia in the region and are holding preliminary negotiations so that the RF Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry step in to back up the project. The company is ready to give to authorities an interest in the project or a stake in the company, according to Sozina.
The project is no secret to the military, spokesmen of Defense Ministry confirmed off-the-record, emphasizing they count on its urgent implementation. With a refinery in Syria, the vessels of Russia Navy will have a source of continuous fuel supply in the Mediterranean Sea.