North-east firm OEG Group has moved to distance itself from the multibillionaire Azerbaijani founder and president of Russian energy firm Lukoil.
It comes amid a tightening of the screw on Russian wealth around the world in response to the crisis in Ukraine.
OEG Group is the holding company for businesses including shipping container and module manufacturer OEG Offshore.
It employs about 700 people in 60 locations around the world, with around 150 based in the north-east.
A statement on OEG’s website says it is “abhorred” by the situation in Ukraine.
It adds: “OEG Offshore can confirm it has decided not to undertake any new business in Russia and is in full compliance with all international sanctions against Russia.”
The firm also insists it has severed ties with Lukoil’s president, Vagit Alekperov, who was until very recently its owner through his Cyprus-based investment vehicle, Morcell.
Documents filed at Companies House earlier this month show OEG, based in Kintore, Aberdeenshire, is under new ownership.
It is now controlled by three exiled UK nationals, Pavel Sukhoruchkin, Marina Kulishova and Pavel Novoselov, who are all domiciled in Monaco.
Lukoil links
Pavel Novoselov and Pavel Sukhoruchkin are believed to have been directors of Lukoil until 2014.
Both men were involved in a now defunct investment fund registered in the Cayman Islands. Mr Alekperov has also been linked to that fund.
Mr Alekperov, a former Caspian Sea oil rig worker, is not currently subject to any sanctions.
But his name does appear on a a US Treasury list of rich “oligarchs” with close ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin.
© Supplied by LukoilAlso on the list is Roman Abramovich, whose assets in the UK – including Chelsea Football Club – are now frozen following the introduction of sanctions against him.
Mr Alekperov has in the past shown ambitions to own a major English football Club, having been linked to takeover bids for both Birmingham City and Tottenham Hotspur.
He has a large stake – understood to be about 37% – in Russian Premier League club Spartak Moscow, which is sponsored by Lukoil.
According to Forbes magazine, Mr Alexperov, who was once a deputy minister overseeing the oil industry in the Soviet Union, has a fortune worth about £8 billion.
Galactica Super Nova, a £460 million Caymans-registered superyacht belonging to the 71-year-old multibillionaire, is reported to have stopped sending tracking signals soon after leaving Montenegro last week.
US private equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts acquired a majority stake in OEG from Morcell in 2014. Morcell bought the business back in 2019.
OEG’s heritage dates back more than 45 years to the mid-1970s, when predecessor company Ferguson Seacabs was launched on the back of the first oilfield in the UK North Sea, Argyll, coming on stream.
Another of OEG’s predecessor companies, Containental Offshore, was formed in 1991.
OEG Offshore was launched in early 2010, following a merger of Containental Offshore and Vertec Engineering
It opened offices in Perth, Western Australia, and Singapore the same year.
And in 2015 the firm acquired a business in the Caspian region, Osca Environmental Services, to grow its business in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.
The last set of accounts filed for OEG Group show revenue of £41m for the 12 months to December 31 2020, up from around £8.2m the year before.
The group suffered pre-tax losses of £12.9m in the latest period, against a deficit of around £825,000 in 2019.
What does OEG have to say?
A spokeswoman for OEG said: “OEG Offshore is appalled by the acts of aggression perpetrated by the Putin regime against the Ukrainian people.
“OEG Offshore is in full compliance with all international sanctions against Russia.
“Additionally, we have decided to discontinue our limited existing business in Russia and have ceased all new business prospects with Russia since March 2.”
The spokeswoman said the company had no Russian directors, management or suppliers.
She added: “Our operations in the Caspian region, where we maintain facilities in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, are unaffected by the current crisis and continue to support our local customers in those countries.
“In terms of our ownership, Morcell Limited, a company whose ultimate beneficial owner is Vagit Alekperov, supported a management buy-out of OEG Offshore in 2019 but subsequently sold its entire shareholding… during 2022 to GIIS Invest SCP.
“This company is registered in Monaco and owned equally by Pavel Novoselov, Pavel Sukhoruchkin, and Marina Kulishova, who are all UK citizens and were previously minority investors in OEG Offshore.
New owner ‘has no relation whatsoever’ with Lukoil president
“GIIS Invest SCP has no relation whatsoever with Morcell Limited nor Mr Alekperov.
“Neither Morcell Limited or Mr Alekperov are subject to any international sanctions and nor were they during their ownership of OEG Offshore.
“OEG Offshore’s group management team, who are based in Aberdeen, are pleased the new owners have stepped up to take a majority share in the business, and that they have reaffirmed their support of OEG Offshore’s strategy of increased investment and focus towards pivoting OEG Offshore towards renewable energy projects.”