TRIVIAL:-Roman Abramovich's teenage son Arkadiy agrees first oil deal

Roman Abramovich's teenage son Arkadiy agrees first oil deal

Arkadiy Abramovich, the eldest son of Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich, is proving himself a chip off the old block by pulling off his first oil deal in Russia. 

The 19-year-old, who has a controlling stake in Aim-listed cash-shell Zoltav, is using the company to snap up an oil field in Siberia in a $46m (£30.5m) deal. 

Zoltav, which is 45pc owned by Ambramovich junior’s ARA Capital investment vehicle, is buying CenGeo Holdings for $26m, issuing new shares in a reverse takeover. 

CenGeo owns the Koltogor oil discovery in Western Siberia, which is yet to be developed. The Koltogor licence sits in one of Russia's most prolific oil producing regions and is close to a number of major producing fields, including Samotlor, Russia's largest.

Under the deal announced on Wednesday, ARA has also pledged to invest $20m in return for new shares.

The move comes eight years after Abramovich senior sold his majority stake in Sibneft, netting $13bn. 

Zoltav said that the acquisition will mark its transition from an investing company into an operational exploration and production business. 

Commenting on the proposed deal, Zoltav chairman Symon Drake-Brockman, said: "This is an excellent first acquisition for Zoltav and will allow the Company to build an operational management team for future acquisitions in the sector.

"We believe the acquisition represents extremely good value for shareholders and delivers a sizeable appraisal asset with near-term production potential." 

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