The Latest Russia Oil Mystery: Vostok Sale Announced Then Denied
- Trader reported sale in annual accounts but corrected them
- Mercantile & Maritime, with Vitol, owns 5% of flagship project
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A trading house that owns part of a stake in Russia’s flagship oil project said its share had been sold for next to nothing to a newly created company. And then it said it hadn’t.
The about-turn from Mercantile & Maritime, which last year partnered with top oil trader Vitol Group to buy 5% of Vostok Oil for 3.5 billion euros ($3.5 billion), is the latest example of the opacity surrounding the Russian energy sector since the invasion of Ukraine.