Sovcomflot gets 100 percent of the shares in Sevmorneftegeofizika (SMNG) on the assumption that it invests at least $300 million in renewal of SMNG’s fleet, Kommersant writes.
The deal was approved by Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin today and is supported both by the Ministry of Transport and the leadership of the two companies.
Murmansk-based Sevmorneftegeofizika is Russia’s leading company within marine seismic surveys. Its largest clients are Gazprom and Rosneft.
Sovcomflot plans to establish a world class seismic survey company specializing in activities on the shelf. Last year the company acquired its first seismic exploration vessel designed for operations in the Arctic, the X-bow 3D seismic vessel “Vyacheslav Tikhonov”, as Barents Observer reported.
Read also: First X-bow ships travels Northern Sea Route
Sovcomflot will be partly privatized in course of the next three years. 50 percent of the state’s shares will be sold in two stages in course of 2012, the first stage probably will take place this summer.
