The Ukrainian-Russian intergovernmental working group on March 24, 2011 held the first stage of a meeting in Kyiv to draw up a plan of joint action to settle the conflict over public JSC Ukrtatnafta (Kremenchuk oil refinery, Poltava region), read a press release of the Energy and Coal Industry Ministry of Ukraine.
"The sides have updated a list of issues that urgently have to be settled, and agreed to consider them at the second stage of the working group’s meeting, which is to be held in Kyiv in late April 2011," reads the release.
Deputy Energy and Coal Industry Minister Volodymyr Makukha headed the Ukrainian part of the group at the meeting on March 24 and Deputy Energy Minister of Russia Dan Belenky headed the Russian side.
CJSC Ukrtatnafta was created on the basis of decrees issued by the Ukrainian president and the president of the Russian Republic of Tatarstan in 1994.
Earlier an 18.296% stake in the refinery belonged to structures affiliated with OJSC Tatneft, and a 28.7788% stake to the Property Ministry of Tatarstan. After litigation in the courts, the share of the Tatar shareholders in the CJSC was cut almost to zero, and a new large shareholder, Korsan Ltd, entered the company. Korsan, affiliated with Privat Group, became the owner of a 19.449% stake in Ukrtatnafta).
In early 2010 Ukrtatnafta held meetings of its shareholders where the agreements on the sale and purchase of two stakes in the company that earlier belonged to structures affiliated to Tatneft and the Property Ministry of Tatarstan were approved, according to unofficial information. The new supervisory board was elected and representatives of Tatarstan were not included in the board.
Tatneft is claiming $2.4 billion from Ukraine in international arbitration tribunal.
