SOCAR Turkey executive appointed new CEO of Nayara Energy

Russian oil giant Rosneft-backed Nayara Energy has appointed Teymur Abasguliyev as the new CEO of the company, replacing a European national who had to resign following EU sanctions on the company. The appointment of Abasguliyev, an Azerbaijan national who is currently the chief financial officer at SOCAR Turkiye Enerji A.Ş, was confirmed by the Nayara board at its meeting on Tuesday, two sources aware of the matter said. Nayara spokesperson did not immediately respond to an email sent for comments.

Educated at Azerbaijan's Baku State University, Abasguliyev previously worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers from 1996 to 2013. He has been the CFO of Group Companies at SOCAR Turkiye Enerji A.Ş. since 2013.

Nayara Chief Executive Alessandro Des Dorides had to quit shortly after the European Union imposed sanctions on the refiner as part of a new raft of measures against Russia over its war with Ukraine. Sergey Denisov, who was Nayara's Chief Development Officer, was named the interim CEO following the resignation. Besides the CEO, five other top officials of Nayara had to resign after the company was sanctioned by the European Union. Like Des Dorides, directors Victoria Cunningham, Avril Mary Anne Conroy and Jorg Tumat as well as company's senior vice president and Head HSE Barbara (Hofbauer) Oberhauser and its second senior most refinery operations, were all European -- a nationality that made it untenable for them to remain with a company under EU sanctions. Nayara had previously denounced the latest EU sanctions against it as unjust and harmful to India's interests, and said it was studying legal options.

Rosneft too had condemned sanctions on Nayara Energy as unjustified, illegal, and described them as a direct threat to India's energy security.

The European Union's 18th package of sanctions against Russia over its war with Ukraine was approved last month with a view to weakening its revenue sources. Nayara Energy was one of the companies that was sanctioned. Rosneft owns a 49.13 per cent stake in Nayara Energy Ltd, formerly Essar Oil Ltd. Nayara owns and operates a 20-million tonnes a year oil refinery at Vadinar in Gujarat, as well as over 6,750 petrol pumps. Besides Rosneft, an investment consortium SPV, Kesani Enterprises Company, holds another 49.13 per cent stake in Nayara. Kesani is owned by Russia's United Capital Partners (UCP) and Hara Capital Sarl, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mareterra Group Holding (formerly Genera Group Holding S.p.A.).

Des Dorides had joined Nayara Energy in April 2024. He was previously the head of oil trading at Eni.