Naftogaz supervisory board supports sharing Ukrnafta assets with minor shareholders

Ukrnafta, in which NJSC Naftogaz Ukrainy owns a 50% plus one share stake, is a "real problem" for the group and the division of its assets with minority shareholders is a good decision, the head of the supervisory board of NJSC Naftogaz Ukrainy, Clare Spottiswoode, has said.

"If we can separate our part of Ukrnafta, divide the business and gain full control over our stake, then the company will become much more transparent, and we will not have to deal with all these problems," she said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

Among these problems, the expert named, in particular, the receipt of financial statements.

"It turns out to be very difficult to get audited statements from Ukrnafta, they try to keep us away from the data … We cannot receive information from the company where we are the majority owner, which means that we cannot fully manage it or verify the charges addressed to it," the head of the supervisory board said.

Commenting on the accusations that Ukrnafta sells resources to minority owners at low prices, Spottiswoode called them fair, but considers them to be caused by the way in which the state auction is organized, where the resource is sold, which allows price manipulation.

"We understood this perfectly, tried to change the rules, but they are regulated by the government and legislation (the law on oil and gas). With the help of Naftogaz, we cannot change the rules that provide opportunities for manipulation," the head of the supervisory board explained.

Source: www.en.interfax.com.ua