Leading energy traders consider return to Russia possible

The largest raw materials and energy trading companies have allowed a return to the Russian market if sanctions are lifted. The heads of the companies told BLOOMBERG .

"If sanctions are relaxed in such a way that we can return, then why not? That's our job," Torbjörn Törnqvist, DIRECTOR of the international energy group Gunvor, told the agency.

Gunvor Group was founded in 2000 by Torbjörn Törnqvist and Gennady Timchenko. The company announced its decision to exit Russian assets in October 2014. In April 2015, Gunvor announced the sale of its first Russian asset – a 30% stake in the Kolmar coal company in Yakutia.

The HEAD of the Swiss trading company Mercuria Energy Group, Marco Danand, also admitted that the company could resume operations in Russia. “If the sanctions are lifted, we will return to Russia and see if we can play a role in the raw materials sector,” he said.

Richard Holtum, CEO of Singapore-based transnational trading company Trafigura Group, said that it would be possible to consider returning to Russia only after all sanctions are lifted. Russell Hardy, CEO of the largest independent oil trader Vitol Group, shares a similar position. In his opinion, it will take a year or two to lift all restrictions. “But I could be wrong, and it could happen faster,” he added.

Before the fighting in Ukraine, commodity traders were actively doing business in Russia, Bloomberg notes. But over the past three years, companies have been forced to abandon deals with oil and metals mined in Russia.

Now, as the agency writes, market players continue to evaluate the efforts of US President Donald Trump to end the conflict. On March 24, negotiations between Russian and American delegations were held in Riyadh. Following the meeting, the Kremlin reported that Moscow and Washington had agreed to implement the Black Sea initiative, which provides for safe shipping in the Black Sea, and to restore access for Russian agricultural exports and fertilizers to the world market after some sanctions are lifted.

On March 14, President Vladimir Putin reported that some foreign companies had expressed a desire to return, and the Russian side had begun negotiations with them. But, as the president emphasized, the return of foreign business should be "as transparent as possible," and domestic producers should retain their advantages.

Read RBC on TELEGRAM .