The General Director of JSC “Zarubezhneft” N. G. Brunich has made a working trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina

He has visited the Russian Embassy in Sarajevo, where he has met the Russian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary A.A. Botsan-Kharchenko. In the course of the conversation they have exchanged views on the JSC “Zarubezhneft” activity on the Balkans, projects realization and further development, and also discussed possible lines of cooperation.
Later on the Russian delegation has met the country’s Prime Minister Nicola Spiric and discussed the “Bosanski Brod” refinery operation and petroleum products sales.
In particular, JSC “Zarubezhneft” General Director N. G. Brunich marked out that much attention is being given to the quality of the refinery production, of which 60% is traded in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 2011 the production volume of the refinery will double, and thus the state revenue of the country will increase significantly.
From his part Nicola Spiric said that he was satisfied with the performance of the refinery contributing 25% to the budget of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Moreover, it gives additional job opportunities – at the moment approximately 1700 persons are employed at the refinery. Mr. Spiric emphasized that the Russian state-run company “Zarubezhneft” would receive all possible kind of support.
On the 16th of July in the Government House of the Republica Srpska (Banja Luka) N.G. Brunich met Prime Minister Milorad Dodik. The following persons also took part in the meeting: Energy and Mines Minister Slobodan Puhalac, Serbian Mining and Energy Minister Petar Skundric, Russian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary A.A. Botsan-Kharchenko, General Director of the “Gazprom neft” subsidiary NIS company K.A. Kravchenko.
After holding brief consultations and exchanging views, the signing of the Memorandum of cooperation between the NIS company and “Zarubezhneft” subsidiary “NeftegazInCor” was held. The document was signed by the NIS General Director K.A. Kravchenko and “OPTIMA Gruppa” director Y.N. Belov. The Memorandum provides for setting up of a joint venture for oil and gas exploration and production in Republica Srpska and other countries, in which NIS will hold a 66% share and “NeftegazInCor” – a 34% share.
After the signing, the press conference was held, where the Prime Minister of Republica Srpska Milorad Dodik noted with satisfaction that through the signing of this document two Russian state-run companies set up cooperation in Republica Srpska, and expressed confidence that probable oil reserves, found earlier, would be proved, contributing a big deal to the energy stability in the region.
The same day at the “Bosanski Brod” refinery was held the solemn opening of an advanced laboratory for production quality control. The head of JSC “Zarubezhneft” N.G. Brunich, the Prime Minister of Republica Srpska Milorad Dodik and the General Director of the refinery S.G. Krashuk snipped the ribbon.
The General Director of the refinery S.G. Krashuk has marked in his statement that the opening of the most advanced laboratory on the Balkans is a significant event for the refinery. Now the cutting edge equipment will allow to manage processes at the refinery according to high international standards, and to improve the production quality monitoring.
During the tour around the laboratory, talking about the whole project, JSC “Zarubezhneft” General Director N.G. Brunich has pointed out that so far about €300 mln had been invested into reconstruction and upgrading the “Bosanski Brod” refinery, and the number one task now is to put into operation the second line of the refinery in order to increase refining capacity up to 4,2 mln tons.