(1996-2001)

OAO Sidanco

Shipston and its partners invested $112 million into Sidanco when the oil production and refining company privatized in 1997, three years after it was founded. This represented a 47% stake in one of the country’s biggest oil companies, while Shipston’s Russian partner Interross controlled another 51%. To help the company more effectively engage one of the world’s largest oil and gas reserves, Shipston and Interross instituted western management and best practices at once updating technology to improve operating efficiencies. In 1997, Shipston sold 10% of its interest to BP for $571 million, and in 2001, Shipston made a full exit through a strategic sale of its interest to BP, which through a series of transactions created TNK-BP, Russia’s fourth largest oil company.