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Why did Rosneft break into Georgia?
By Georgi Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi.
7 January 2015 - 5:07pm
[Summary: The first political event of 2015 in Georgia was a major
deal between Petrocas Energy Group and the Russian state company
`Rosneft.' Petrocas belongs to billionaire David Jacobashvili. It sold
49% of its shares. The deal caused heavy protests from the opposition
and pro-Western experts, who thought it was `breaking into Georgia by
the most powerful Russian state corporation.']
It is wrong to say that Russian state companies were absent in
Georgia. The UES of Russia bought the Tbilisi SCR system `Telasi' from
the American company AES and solved the `historic' problem of stable
electric power being provided to the capital in a year. However, even
in 2003 supporters of Mikheil Saakshvili stood against the `malicious
penetration by Anatoly Chubais's company of Georgia', as he was
thought to be an author of the concept of the `liberal empire.'
Today they are protesting against Rosneft. At the same time, in both
cases private companies have decided to sell their shares profitably
to a buyer who was ready to pay big money for it. However, supporters
of the former president organize briefings, insisting on cancelling
the deal, as it `damages the state interests of Georgia.'
Why did the Russian oil giant decide to buy a packet of Petrocas
shares which is not a controlling one? David Jacobashvili's company
owns not only the biggest network of fuel stations in Georgia, Gulf,
but also the biggest oil-loading terminal near Poti. In recent years
Rosneft used the terminal for transshipment of oil and oil products to
Armenia. It seems that Moscow has decided to improve its control over
the oil supply line of the state, which has recently entered the
Eurasian Economic Union. The geopolitical approach meets the Kremlin's
strategy on building new and reconstructing former communications
connecting Russia and the South Caucasus. I mean reconstruction of the
railway through Abkhazia and construction of the Avro-Kakheti highway
from Dagestan to Eastern Georgia and further to Armenia. The oil
product transshipment line is an important component of providing
vitality in Armenia. Tbilisi media even suppose that Rosneft is going
to buy a controlling interest of Petrocas, but the vice-president of
the Georgian company, Niko Mchedlishvili, told Vestnik Kavkaza that
this is not so: `The controlling interest still belongs to David
Jacobashvili.'
It is a secret how much the deal costs. Negotiations on selling the
controlling or blocking interest of Petrocas Energy Group started in
autumn 2013, when Armenia rejected signing the association agreement
with the EU and decided to join the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus
and Kazakhstan, but at the same time Yerevan raised the question of
`stable communication lines with the countries of the Customs Union
under absence of common borders.'
However, Tbilisi considers the story from a different point of view `
it is an attempt by the Russian giant (almost the Russian state
itself) to `gain the most important communications and the Black Sea
shore of the country.' According to one of the leaders of
Saakashvili's party, the MP Zurab Japaridze, the deal with Petrocas is
only the beginning of `a big process', and if nobody makes the
authorities cancel the deal, `in future Moscow will have no obstacles
at all.'
The opposition states that Rosneft is actively working in Abkhazia,
violating Georgian law on occupied territories. From a formal point of
view, it could be an argument for rejection of registration of the
purchase and redistribution of interests. However, it seems Prime
Minister Irakli Garibashvili doesn't intend to take such a radical
step, as Moscow could consider it a return to the times of
Saakashvili's rule with his confrontational logic, i.e. `a forced
breaking' of the deal could lead to the reinstatement of a Russian
embargo on Georgian goods.
From: Baghdasarian
Why did Rosneft break into Georgia?
By Georgi Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi.
7 January 2015 - 5:07pm
[Summary: The first political event of 2015 in Georgia was a major
deal between Petrocas Energy Group and the Russian state company
`Rosneft.' Petrocas belongs to billionaire David Jacobashvili. It sold
49% of its shares. The deal caused heavy protests from the opposition
and pro-Western experts, who thought it was `breaking into Georgia by
the most powerful Russian state corporation.']
It is wrong to say that Russian state companies were absent in
Georgia. The UES of Russia bought the Tbilisi SCR system `Telasi' from
the American company AES and solved the `historic' problem of stable
electric power being provided to the capital in a year. However, even
in 2003 supporters of Mikheil Saakshvili stood against the `malicious
penetration by Anatoly Chubais's company of Georgia', as he was
thought to be an author of the concept of the `liberal empire.'
Today they are protesting against Rosneft. At the same time, in both
cases private companies have decided to sell their shares profitably
to a buyer who was ready to pay big money for it. However, supporters
of the former president organize briefings, insisting on cancelling
the deal, as it `damages the state interests of Georgia.'
Why did the Russian oil giant decide to buy a packet of Petrocas
shares which is not a controlling one? David Jacobashvili's company
owns not only the biggest network of fuel stations in Georgia, Gulf,
but also the biggest oil-loading terminal near Poti. In recent years
Rosneft used the terminal for transshipment of oil and oil products to
Armenia. It seems that Moscow has decided to improve its control over
the oil supply line of the state, which has recently entered the
Eurasian Economic Union. The geopolitical approach meets the Kremlin's
strategy on building new and reconstructing former communications
connecting Russia and the South Caucasus. I mean reconstruction of the
railway through Abkhazia and construction of the Avro-Kakheti highway
from Dagestan to Eastern Georgia and further to Armenia. The oil
product transshipment line is an important component of providing
vitality in Armenia. Tbilisi media even suppose that Rosneft is going
to buy a controlling interest of Petrocas, but the vice-president of
the Georgian company, Niko Mchedlishvili, told Vestnik Kavkaza that
this is not so: `The controlling interest still belongs to David
Jacobashvili.'
It is a secret how much the deal costs. Negotiations on selling the
controlling or blocking interest of Petrocas Energy Group started in
autumn 2013, when Armenia rejected signing the association agreement
with the EU and decided to join the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus
and Kazakhstan, but at the same time Yerevan raised the question of
`stable communication lines with the countries of the Customs Union
under absence of common borders.'
However, Tbilisi considers the story from a different point of view `
it is an attempt by the Russian giant (almost the Russian state
itself) to `gain the most important communications and the Black Sea
shore of the country.' According to one of the leaders of
Saakashvili's party, the MP Zurab Japaridze, the deal with Petrocas is
only the beginning of `a big process', and if nobody makes the
authorities cancel the deal, `in future Moscow will have no obstacles
at all.'
The opposition states that Rosneft is actively working in Abkhazia,
violating Georgian law on occupied territories. From a formal point of
view, it could be an argument for rejection of registration of the
purchase and redistribution of interests. However, it seems Prime
Minister Irakli Garibashvili doesn't intend to take such a radical
step, as Moscow could consider it a return to the times of
Saakashvili's rule with his confrontational logic, i.e. `a forced
breaking' of the deal could lead to the reinstatement of a Russian
embargo on Georgian goods.
From: Baghdasarian