News

Rusneftegaz has published a preliminary calendar for the next fiscal year, with our organization scheduled to disclose our consolidated financial statements on 4 April 2023, and convene for an Annual General Meeting later that same week. This particular conference is currently due to be held on 7 April 2023, although this date is subject to change. It is currently the intention of the board to once again host the event at a venue in Moscow, avoiding the prospect of the session being held virtually via teleconference as per during the pandemic, although this option remains as a contingency if necessary. However, it should be noted that none of our plans throughout the last year have been affected by coronavirus, and management considers this phase of the health crisis to have ended. It does exclude any proposal for an Extraordinary General Meeting, which was suggested earlier this year should it have been necessary to vote to approve a new external auditor. Since we have retained the services of current firm, it was not considered necessary to assemble such a gathering. Despite this, the majority of undertakings in 2023 are anticipated to proceed as normal, with production reports to continue to be published one month after the cessation of each quarter. In spite of this, there may still be discrepancies between the time this information is circulated to relevant parties and when this material is uploaded onto our website. 

​Moreover, it is important to highlight that in the more immediate future that we anticipate a reduced capacity to address nonessential matters, including inquiries received via email and telephone, owing to staff vacations coinciding with the Christmas and New Year holiday. This impending disruption, which is scheduled to occur from 26 December 2022 to 9 January 2023, will exclusively affect our administrative functions and will have no impact on our other operations. Hence, it is of utmost importance that all correspondences be forwarded to us prior to this to ensure a timely response. Please be assured that all messages received during this period will be vigilantly monitored and responded to as required. At the conclusion of this timeframe, we will diligently strive to address all these pending communications within one working day, in conjunction with those received by our subsidiaries. The full details of this provisional calendar can be viewed in its entirety on our official website, and although the dates may be modified at the discretion of our management, we currently consider this a remote possibility. Any inquiries regarding this announcement should be sent via the usual channels as soon as possible, chiefly to ensure a response before our capacity to do so becomes limited. Your cooperation and understanding in this pertinent matter are greatly appreciated.

On 25 November, Rusneftegaz hosted an event in Moscow to mark the achievements of a number of our staff over the past twelve months. This was the first such ceremony held by our organization since 2019, prior to the commencement of the coronavirus pandemic, which has disrupted our plans for the past two years. Instead of prizes being distributed locally by regional directors, a pool of dignitaries, executives and representatives descended on the capital to recognize the work of our personnel in the field. This is in addition to our administrators, who operate at a greater distance. All of those chosen to receive awards last Friday were nominated by their contemporaries in appreciation of their exceptional endeavors and hard work. These selections were then seconded by their managers, before the final choices being approved at board level. Following the evening, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Aleksandr Filyurin, remarked: 

“Firstly, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all of those that have won awards and been honored here today. The board and I never fail to be amazed by what our staff do to help make Rusneftegaz a successful company, and the past year is just another chapter in that success story. Although it is fair to say that this year has been far more challenging than we expected, we all managed to rise to those challenges and see them off again. We are anticipating strong results for this year, which represent our ongoing growth. There are many reasons to remember 2022 fondly; especially when we remember that this is the first year of the decade that has not been massively impacted by the pandemic. There are even more reasons to be excited about next year though, a lot of the projects that were delayed by the pandemic are now due to be completed in 2023, which could be a truly transformational year for our company. Personally, I am excited by it, and I hope all our staff are, too.” 

Among the worthy prizewinners were Artem Shaparov and Artur Denisov, who were selected as employee and young employee of the year respectively. Both men are considered to have made an excellent individual contribution to the development of Rusneftegaz throughout 2022. In this case, Shaparov managed to oversee and complete a complex technical project to renew a malfunctioning pump jack at an unprecedented speed. Likewise, Denisov has made outstanding progress as an engineer after joining us in June last year, whilst also raising significant funds for veteran’s charities. As per the precedent set since the health crisis started in 2020, management also elected to award special commendations to eighteen members of our workforce for their efforts this year. This is because we always aim to both acknowledge and commend the remarkable accomplishments of all those affiliated with our company, and are grateful to them for our continued success.

Rusneftegaz can announce that we intend to initiate significant changes to our present trading strategy, following the deterioration in geopolitical relations that has occurred over the past seven months. Whereas earlier this year we arranged deals with a plethora of partners from every part of the world, it has become increasingly clear that this is no longer viable. On a day-to-day basis, we would regularly send consignments of crude and refined products to the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp region, where it could be marketed via commodities exchanges. This was not only inclusive of the fuels we had produced ourselves, but also those of a number of other entities that extracted hydrocarbons across the Russian Federation. The continued acquisition of this oil from third parties was set to be a fundamental element of our broader stratagem, so it was necessary to review these practices as a result of the challenges we as an entity are now facing. Whilst most of this trade was centered around the major global hubs, including in both Belgium and the Netherlands, the pending implementation of restrictions in these areas will reduce our capacity to conduct commercial activities in these locations. It is therefore advantageous to us to proactively mitigate the effects of this embargo before it takes full effect at the end of the year. Thus, we can today disclose that our export operation is to be recalibrated to primarily focus on East Asia and India, where we now predict that much of our growth will emerge in the future. In response to this announcement, our Deputy Chief Executive Officer Aleksandr Filyurin delivered these observations: 

“It was becoming clear to us that we needed to do something before the trading environment became any more restricted, and we would potentially lose all of our current business overnight. Let us speak directly about what is going on, because what is happening now is not entirely unexpected. What has unfolded this year has been a possibility for almost a decade, and to speak even more directly, it is almost a surprise that it has not happened sooner. It is fair to say that we knew we had to prepare for this situation if it ever happened, and as a board, we agreed to take all the steps necessary to prevent Rusneftegaz being harmed. Now, being realistic, perhaps we should have done even more to prepare for this, but we cannot live in the past; we live in the present. I know that in our hearts, our greatest priority is to act in the national interest, and I think that what we are doing is in the national interest.” 

Although our previous approach to these transactions was undoubtedly a great success, and hence very lucrative for us, we are now at a juncture where we must determine our next course of action. In recent times, we have been diligently researching all the options available, and making appropriate judgments in the fullness of time. Because of these endeavors, our leadership considers that it is in our long-term best interests to pivot towards the countries on the Pacific Ocean, some of which are the largest economies on earth. These nations also serve as a selection of the most rapidly growing markets at this moment, with increasing demands for fuel and mineral resources. We wholeheartedly maintain that this presents itself as an opportunity for us to form new, enduring partnerships in this corner of the globe, and ultimately capitalize in due time. When it became evident to us in the initial weeks of the year that our existing policies would have to be adapted, we initiated considerable efforts to create this range of contacts. This not only includes the employees of local tank terminals and the managers of shipping companies, but also other petroleum producers and refiners. In spite of the fact that forming bonds with all these firms is vital to prospering in this industry, creating a rapport with the latter is particularly critical if we are to continue purchasing discounted cargoes and subsequently reselling each of these shipments accordingly. The work forging these connections was commenced by our Director of Trading, David John, who issued this statement prior to publication of this article: 

“I am very pleased with the proposal we have created to change our trading strategy in the next few months. Since I first joined Rusneftegaz in 2019, my team and I have worked with a relatively small pool of partners thus far, and we have now been presented with a great opportunity to expand our horizons. Doing business in a new market is always an exciting process, and I am pleased that we will be able to explore these new possibilities soon.” 

Notwithstanding the fact that the transformation in this sector of our corporation will be extensive, it will not result in any structural adjustments at our office in New York, where the majority of such activities are organized. We believe that none of these changes will have a negative impact on this element of our organization, and thus there will still be an abundance of employment opportunities at this site in the near and distant future. Whilst the enlargement of this department was paused during the pandemic, we do not anticipate any of the aforementioned matters to cause any further delays to our global plans. However, in the midst of this adversity, many of the preparations we had undertaken to expedite this were rendered outdated following monumental shifts in both circumstances and conditions that occurred in this timeframe. Nevertheless, our current international expansion proposals remain intact and are forecast to be concluded on schedule. That said, additional action will be required to adequately replace all obsolete material, in much the same vein as our wider investment program. Our financial projections expect that this component of our enterprise will be profitable irrespective of these developments, and the series of measures outlined should guarantee that this operation is successful on a long-term basis, regardless of the challenges that have recently emerged. We will similarly be able to uphold the rigorous standards that have ensured exponential growth since this venture first started four years ago, and will also be able to respond to any subsequent amendments to Russian law in an orderly fashion. Any queries by interested parties pertaining to this bulletin can be submitted via the conventional channels. We necessitate your cooperation and understanding with this ongoing affair.

Although we have previously published a number of warnings regarding attempts by criminals to deceive potential victims into believing that we sell our products through third parties, we are disappointed to disclose that the practice continues to be pervasive and ongoing. Whilst we continue to do our utmost to remove all fake product listings from the internet, we are still receiving regular inquiries asking us to verify the authenticity of files and other materials, all of which are forged. Such documents fraudulently utilize our name, branding, and reputation in an effort to appear authentic, despite the fact that we do not conduct business in this manner. In recent times, we have been sent wholly contrived invoices for tens of millions of tons of fuel in conjunction with doctored letterheads with falsified contact details. However, it should be noted that while this illegitimate paperwork is increasingly prevalent, there are no common factors with regard to the changes made. By way of illustration, we have seen instances whereby our official web address has not been amended, and others where it has been altered to a fictitious site with a similar domain name. We have also registered numerous cases in which telephone numbers and email addresses have been tampered with, primarily to ensure all communications are redirected to the felons and their accomplices. Thus, we ask the recipients of such messages to exercise caution before transmitting money or submitting sensitive data to these nefarious groups. 

​We can also once again reiterate that under no circumstances do we authorize intermediaries to advertise or sell our products on our behalf, and we have no intention of allowing these practices in the near or distant future. Prospective customers should always be wary of those who introduce themselves as a supposed “mandate” or “agent” of our organization, as such job titles do not exist within our company or the wider industry. Such scammers routinely claim to be capable of presenting formal offers to buyers, or extending discounts when certain quantities are purchased, when in fact such individuals do not possess this authority. Due to this prevailing risk, we maintain the capacity to verify anyone who claims to be associated with Rusneftegaz, and recommend that all those who hold suspicions contact us at their earliest convenience. We also strongly advise all potential crude or refined petroleum purchasers to do so via a recognized, regulated commodities exchange. Over the past two decades, we have recorded the majority of our sales through this medium, and we expect this practice to endure for many years to come. This is principally because arranging a settlement in such a manner ultimately guarantees that the goods are delivered to the specification required, while simultaneously mitigating opportunities for abuse to arise. 

All parties involved should be especially skeptical if there are apparent discrepancies with corporate identification numbers, bank account details, or the designated recipient of funds. Nonetheless, all those with misgivings regarding the legitimacy of someone claiming to represent us, or the contents of any files or messages from said sender, should communicate their concerns to our fraud prevention officer as soon as possible. This is particularly acute when a commercial offer has been received and a monetary transfer may occur imminently. While we do our utmost to prevent these offenses from ever occurring, we are heavily reliant upon the vigilance and tenacity of victims to report these schemes before the possibility of significant financial losses arises. Although it is crucial that we are informed of all such infractions perpetuated in our name, it is perhaps even more critical that the relevant law enforcement authorities are alerted at the same time. We uphold a robust working relationship with all the major local and national agencies in the Russian Federation to ensure that this type of law-breaking is reduced in the future. In spite of the fact that such deceptions are rare, it remains a recurring threat to all those who trade in this sector. If anyone reading this bulletin has been a victim of any crime described in this article committed in the name of our entity, we urge you to contact us immediately to commence an investigation accordingly. We necessitate your cooperation and understanding with this pressing matter.