New EU sanctions target Russia’s oil and defense companies

© AFP 2013/ Patrick Hertzog

11:47 12/09/2014

MOSCOW, September 12 (RAPSI) – The new EU sanctions aim to limit the Russian oil and defense companies’ access to the European capital market. The companies include Oboronprom, United Aircraft Corporation, the Kalashnikov Concern, Uralvagonzavod, Rosneft, Transneft and Gazprom Neft, RIA Novosti announced, citing information published in the EU’s Official Journal Friday.

Private and corporate EU investors will be unable to issue these companies loans of longer than 30 days’ maturity or to trade in these companies’ new securities, shares and other financial instruments with maturity of more than 30 days.

Previous sanctions limited loan and securities’ maturity to 90 days.

Additional sanctions against Russian oil companies include a ban on the use of foreign exploration and production services in deep-water, Arctic and shale oil projects, the document says.

The sanctions also ban the export of certain dual use items to nine Russian defense companies, namely Kalashnikov, the Tula Arms Plant, Sirius (a Rostec company producing military and civilian optoelectronics), the association of mechanical engineering companies Stankoinstrument, RT-Chemcomposite (a Rostec producer of high-tech products for the aerospace, defense, transport, energy and chemical industries).

The other companies are Rostec’s Machine Engineering Technologies Holding (TechMash, artillery ammunition and special chemicals) and High Precision Systems (high-precision weapons, parts and components), as well as state-owned Almaz-Antey (air defense systems) and Bazalt (ammunitions for the army, the navy and the air force).