Kazakhstan, Astana, July 2 / Trend S.Suleymanov /
The decision to sell a 50-percent stake in the Pavlodar Petrochemical Plant was motivated by two main factors, Kazakh SamrukKazyna National Welfare Fund head Kairat Kelimbetov said.
"There were two reasons for selling the plant," he said. "The first was the large investments that we borrowed from the Kazakh National Bank, which we later had to pay. The second was that we hoped to welcome a technologically-oriented investor."
According to the company official, Kazakhstan is negotiating with several Russian companies. He refused to specify their names.
"With a 50-percent share, we do not lose our autonomy. And the state's regulation of petroleum product prices is a separate issue altogether," Kelimbetov said.
KazMunaiGas (KMG) is negotiating the sale of a stake in the plant with a Russian company, KMG Managing Director Daniyar Tiesov said at a recent news conference in Astana.
TNK-BP is among a group of companies that purchased a 50-percent stake in the plant. Lukoil and Gazprom-Neft also claimed to have purchased shares.
"The price of the sale was $600 million," the source said.
The plant was built in the Soviet Union and only refines oil from western Siberian oil fields. Its estimated capacity is 6-7 million tons of oil per year.