As everyone knows Asia is the place to be for oil companies and hence it is not a surprise that Russia’s state-owned oil giant Rosneft has now opened its trading arm in Singapore, as part of its big push into the continent. The trading arm in Singapore is aimed at giving Rosneft a foothold in the world’s fastest-growing market for oil. The company is also going to invest in fresh projects in Asia and seeks to raise its sales figures dramatically.
Some sources close to the developments have stated that Rosneft staff from Moscow will move to Singapore soon to set up the company’s operations in the country. The trading arm, which is known as Rosneft Singapore was registered last year and according to sources within the oil industry, it is going to be a big bet from the company as it seeks to take Asia by storm.
However, the biggest indication that it is going to be one of Rosneft’s biggest plays in years lies in the fact that the Singapore arm is going to be run by Andrey Bogatenkov. It is a significant piece of news since Bogatenkov is the company’s deputy head of not only crude but also product exports. An oil trader for one of the major oil companies in the world said as much, “The fact that Rosneft plans to appoint a key crude and products trader as the head of its Singapore branch means it is really betting big on the region.”
The Russian state has wanted to enter the Asian market for a long time as a major exporter but for much of its existence, Rosneft has been engaged in exporting oil to Europe. However, that is now going to change for the second biggest exporter of oil in the world. It is, however, important to note that Rosneft had already built a direct pipeline to China and already own an export terminal in the country. Over the years, the company has exported oil worth billions to China and India, two of the biggest economies in the continent. However, Rosneft Singapore is a much bigger play and will try to significantly raise oil export numbers in Asia. In 2017, exports to Asia grew by 31%, and it grew at a steady clip to hit a growth rate of 36% last year. Rosneft has not commented about the developments.
