Five foreign vice-presidents of Russia’s Rosneft have resigned over European Union sanctions banning European citizens or Russians living in the EU from working for the Kremlin’s major oil company, knowledgeable sources told Reuters.
According to the same sources, Didier Casimiro, Eric Liron, Zeljko Runje, Avril Conroy and Otabek Karimov left Rosneft a few days before the imposition of the EU sanctions package against Russia, which entered into force on 15 May.
All five started working for the state-owned Russian company in 2012 or early 2013.
Rosneft chief Igor Setsin, a close ally of Vladimir Putin, has long said that Rosneft wants to compete with Exxon Mobil by hiring foreign executives and using the best Western technology and know-how.
The departure of top executives and the tightening of Western sanctions against Russia are expected to slow Rosneft’s growth and hinder the development of new deposits, including the iconic Vostok Oil project in Eastern Siberia.
Belgian-born Casimiro, a key player in Russian oil trading and supply, has joined Rosneft after the company acquired BP in Russia, TNK-BP.
Liron of French descent and Conroy of Irish descent joined Rosneft from TNK-BP in 2013. They were responsible for in-house services and the development of retail businesses, respectively.
The Uzbek-born Karimov worked closely with Didier as vice president of trade and logistics.
Croatian-born Runje joined Rosneft from the Russian subsidiary of Exxon Mobil in 2012 as vice president for the development of oil and gas companies and offshore operations.
Casimiro and Runje were fined as natural persons by the United Kingdom in late March.
Source: Capital
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