OREANDA-NEWS. July 25, 2012. Leonid Mikhelson, Chairman of the Board of Directors of SIBUR Holding, German Khan, TNK-BP’s Executive Director, and Dmitry Konov, Chairman of SIBUR’s Management Board, have signed a set of strategic partnership agreements that will see the two companies join forces to produce, process, and use hydrocarbon feedstock.

The companies have agreed to indefinitely extend the Yugragaspererabotka joint venture and prolong all contracts related to the JV until the end of 2026.

The parties have also agreed that SIBUR will acquire a 25% stake in Zaykinsky Gas Processing Plant (GPP) in 2013, upon completion of the modernisation and construction programme at the plant. Following SIBUR’s acquisition of the stake in Zaykinsky GPP, the parties will jointly manage the GPP and its infrastructure while investing in production capacity expansion and equipment upgrades. Zaykinsky GPP and its infrastructure will operate as a standalone joint venture.

The parties are also in talks over a deal that will potentially see SIBUR buy the propane/butane mix which is to be produced within the Rospan project.

The parties are committed to continuing their cooperation under the existing contracts to expand TNK-BP’s use of SIBUR’s fuel components and other petrochemicals.

“We are excited about the future partnership, especially considering the successful track record of our Yugragaspererabotka JV,” said Leonid Mikhelson, Chairman of the Board of Directors of SIBUR Holding. “SIBUR is consistently focused on expanding its resource base by using both associated petroleum gas and by-products of natural gas processing, which are increasingly involved in our petrochemical operations. The project demonstrates the commitment of SIBUR and TNK-BP to address national priorities of deep hydrocarbon processing in Russia.”

“The creation of the Yugragazpererabotka JV in 2007 has enabled our companies to significantly increase the utilized volumes of TNK-BP's associated gas. Our partnership with SIBUR plays an important role in solving our high-priority task of increasing utilization of this valuable raw material up to 95% by 2015,” said Executive Director of TNK-BP German Khan. “Today we are commencing a new stage in the partnership between TNK-BP and SIBUR. The large-scale gas-refining projects in the Orenburg region and the development of the Rospan assets will open up new opportunities for our joint business and will efficiently solve the problems of properly utilizing associated gas not only in western Siberia, but also in other oil-producing regions of the country.”