Rosneft plans to use the entire processing capacity of the Samara group of refineries from next month, processing its own crude and most likely topping up with crude currently supplied by Yukos, traders said. The Syzran, Novokuibyshevsk and Kuibyshev plants process crude produced by Rosneft's main production unit, Yugansk, as well as oil from Yukos itself.
If Rosneft implements the new scheme, it will be the sole owner of all the oil product's output and determine the pricing policy, traders said.
Although the three refineries belong to Yukos, Russia has started selling off all of the firm's assets to cover its debts of over $26 billion.
A trader in the Volga region, where the refineries are situated, said the plants had already started reshuffling management.
A Rosneft monopoly on the plants might upset pricing of oil and oil products in the region, traders said. Currently, Rosneft and Yukos compete with each other by selling oil products produced at the plants through trading companies. The competitive prices for oil products made the plants' output popular among consumers.
"The competition between the companies ensures a certain pricing balance," a regional trader said.
