Reuters: Bankruptcy News: UPDATE 1-Former Russian minister to bid for Petroplus plants

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UPDATE 1-Former Russian minister to bid for Petroplus plants Mar 21st 2012, 09:15 Wed Mar 21, 2012 5:15am EDT * Investment vehicle of Igor Yusufov to table bids-source * To bid for Coryton, Cressier and Ingolstadt refineries (Adds background, detail) By Tom Bergin LONDON, March 21 (Reuters) - A former Russian energy minister is planning to bid for three refineries owned by bankrupt oil refiner Petroplus, a source close to the matter said, giving hope to workers who fear refinery shut downs and potentially dashing rivals' expectations that industry overcapacity might be reduced. Fund Energy, an investment vehicle founded by Igor Yusufov, who still sits on board of directors of state-controlled Gazprom, plans to bid for Petroplus refineries at Coryton in England, Cressier in Switzerland and Ingolstadt in Germany, the source said. Fund Energy plans to file a bid for Ingolstadt by the close of business on Wednesday, to meet a March 21 deadline set for non-binding offers. Petroplus was pushed into bankruptcy protection earlier this year by high debt and weak crude processing margins. Earlier this month, Swiss-based trader Gunvor, co-owned by Russian tycoon Gennady Timchenko, said it was acquiring a Petroplus refinery in Antwerp in Belgium, in a move to expand its infrastructure footprint in Europe's largest oil trading hub. Industry sources expect the low-complexity Antwerp plant could eventually be turned into storage, which can be a valuable trading tool. However, the source familiar with Yusufov's plans said he intended to "upgrade" the Ingolstadt facility. Yusufov has no designs on the fifth and most inefficient of all the Petroplus' refineries, Petit-Couronne in France, the source said. Swiss private investor Gary Klesch said earlier this month he had submitted the only offer for the plant, although the administrators subsequently extended the deadline for offers by three weeks to April 5. The deadline for bids for Cressier is March 26 and April 2 for Coryton. (Editing by Chris Wickham, Jane Merriman and Mark Potter) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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