The owner of the Glusco chain of petrol stations stops fuel supply to Ukraine

Author

Maksim Nechiporenko

The Swiss trader Proton Energy Group SA notified all of its counterparties about the termination of the oil products supply to Ukraine from April 1, 2021.

"We deeply regret to inform You that Proton Energy Group SA has decided to terminate cooperation and stop supplying oil products to the Ukrainian market from April 1, 2021. We ask You to consider this letter as an official termination notification. We are enclosing a termination agreement for Your approval and signature," is said in Proton’s letter, enkorr reports.

Among the reasons for this decision, the company names the actions of the Ukrainian authorities.

"At the beginning of March 2021, the company received information from one of the members of the Ukrainian Oil and Gas Association of Ukraine that the Security Service strongly recommends participants in the Ukrainian fuel market not to cooperate with Proton Energy Group SA and refrain from buying oil products from the company. Also last week we witnessed events regarding Glusco chain of petrol stations, owned by Glusco Energy S.A. and a member of the Ukrainian Oil and Gas Association. Earlier, in February 2021, the technological volume of diesel fuel in the pipeline (the Ukrainian section of the main oil product pipeline Samara-Western Direction.—) owned by the company, was illegally arrested by the Ukrainian authorities," the reasons are explained in the trader's appeal.

"As a result of the aforementioned... actions of the Ukrainian authorities, You might experience delays and/or refusal in customs clearance of oil products supplied by the company to the Ukrainian border. The company is bearing financial losses due to the seizure of its diesel products and would like to avoid such a situation for Your business ...",— Proton writes.

Proton Energy Group SA, registered in Switzerland, was founded in 2010 and is a trader in oil and oil products. The company works with major global energy producers in the Black Sea and Mediterranean basins, as well as in Africa and America.

The company belongs to Nisan Moiseev. He is associated in a business partnership with Viktor Medvedchuk. However, the owner of Proton Energy denied this information in court.

Since 2016, Proton Energy has been the sole supplier of Rosneft products to Ukraine. In 2020, it supplied to Ukraine 1.74 million tons of diesel fuel (23.4% of the market) and 443,000 tons (22.3%) of liquefied gas.

The trader's clients are the largest players on the Ukrainian market: Wexler Group, OKKO, WOG, KLO, Glusco, Alliance Energo Trade, Avtotrans, Nadezhda, Avantage and others.

Also, Proton Energy, through its subsidiary Glusco Energy SA (Switzerland), owns a Ukrainian retail chain under the Glusco brand that previously belonged to Rosneft and operated under the TNK brand.

In December 2016, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine allowed Glusco Energy SA to buy more than 50% of the shares of Rosneft Management Company Ltd. and Fargrade Ltd. Glusco Energy SA.

In 2017, Proton Energy Group SA became the largest importer of liquefied gas to Ukraine from Russia.