OIL explores options to bring back millions stuck in Russia

livemint.com:

NEW DELHI : Oil India Ltd (OIL) has appointed legal and tax consultants to explore ways to repatriate its $150 million in dividend stuck in Russia, the state-run firm’s chairman and managing director Ranjit Rath said. In an interview, Rath said the money is currently parked in SBI’s Moscow branch. OIL is part of two Indian consortiums that have stakes in several Russian oilfields in Siberia.

One consortium of OIL, Indian Oil Corp and Bharat Petroresources Ltd holds 23.9% stake in CSJC Vankorneft, the owner of Vankor Field and North Vankor. The three firms are part of another Indian state run firms’ consortium that owns 29.9% of LLC Taas-Yuryakh. ONGC Videsh (OVL) holds another 26% stake in SCJC Vankorneft.

Mint has reported that OVL, Bharat Petroresources Ltd, Indian Oil Corp, and Oil India Ltd have around $400 million in stuck dividend payments from from CSJC Vankorneft and LLC Taas-Yuryakh. The amount is stuck in Russia because of difficulties in transferring dividend payments from Russia due to western sanctions on Russian energy companies. “We got the money in the initial days, which was repatriated comfortably.

Subsequently, because of the unfortunate incident (Russian’s invasion of Ukraine) and the consequential sanctions, the money is safely parked in SBI Moscow," Rath said. “Today, as we speak, around $150 million is stuck there. But we are confident that it is only a matter of time; it is a temporary restriction.

We will be able to (repatriate).... because we are having legal opinion. They are evaluating various other possibilities." Rath said that although the priority is to get the dividends repatriated, other viable options would also be explored such as reinvesting the money in Russia.