Following Russia’s actions in Ukraine, the website of Gazprom Neft (SIBN.MM), the oil arm of Russian state gas giant Gazprom (GAZP.MM), fell down on Wednesday after an apparent hack, in what appeared to be the latest attack on government-linked sites.
A statement purported to be from Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller, a close confidant of President Vladimir Putin, was momentarily displayed on the website.
Last month, Miller encouraged the gas giant’s 500,000 employees to rally behind Putin in order to maintain Russia’s status as a major power in the face of foreign aggression.
In a message attributed to him on what appeared to be a hacked version of the site, he was quoted as criticizing Russia’s decision to send tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine, where thousands of soldiers and civilians have been killed.
Soon after, the website ceased working.”The information published on the site on April 6 morning… is not true and cannot be regarded as an official statement of the company’s representatives or shareholders,” Gazprom Neft stated.
Gazprom Neft is Russia’s third largest oil producer and third in terms of refining throughput. It is a subsidiary of Gazprom, which holds 96 percent of the company’s stock. After central offices were relocated from Moscow in 2011, the corporation was registered and headquartered in St. Petersburg.
Gazprom Neft accounted for 10% of oil and gas production and 14.6 percent of refining activities in Russia by the end of 2012. In 2012, production volumes increased by 4.3 percent over 2011, refining throughput increased by 7%, revenue jumped by 19.5 percent, and EBITDA and net profit improved by 7.7% and 9.9%, respectively.
OAO Gazprom owns 95.68 percent of Gazprom Neft’s shares, with the remaining 4.32 percent listed on the stock exchange. The Italian oil and gas corporation Eni originally controlled 20% of Gazprom Neft’s shares before Gazprom bought them for $4.1 billion in April 2009. Alexander Dyukov is the company’s CEO and chairman of the board of directors. Alexey Miller is the board’s chairman.
The official sponsor of the CSKA Moscow football team was Sibneft. Gazprom Neft, on the other hand, cancelled the arrangement in 2005 after the company purchased a controlling ownership in FC Zenit Saint Petersburg, a team from the Russian Premier League. Gazprom Neft also sponsors the ice hockey teams Avangard Omsk and SKA, as well as a number of running, five-a-side football, Nordic skiing, and motorcross events. During Russian racing driver Mikhail Aleshin’s championship-winning year in 2010, Gazprom Neft and Gazprombank sponsored him.
