(Source: http://izvestiaur.ru/news)

The Ervington Investments foundation owned by the billionaire Roman Abramovich paid 9.75 million US dollars for the purchase of the preferred shares of the American Propell Technologies company developing technologies of increasing oil and gas production from shale deposits. This was stated in a press release published on the website of Propell.

The company will spend the proceeds from the sale of shares on the acquisition of oil production assets in order to increase energy resources production, as well as for the further promotion of this technology in the United States, as the report says. Propell owns a technique of plasma-pulse fracturing of oil-bearing formations meant to improve the wells’ yield, which makes it possible not to contaminate groundwater, unlike the hydrofracturing technology.

The experts consider this method to be promising, because when they use traditional methods, a lot of reagents go to groundwater. In February of this year, Abramovich’s foundation bought 1.5 million of preferred shares of Propell Technologies for 5 million US dollars. The contract provided for an option to buy another 2.97 million shares, which was implemented in July. Thus, the total amount of investments of the foundation in Propell made up 15 million US dollars.

Besides, Ervington Investments has consolidated a controlling stake (51.4 percent of shares) in the authorized capital of the company, according to financial statements of Propell Technologies. The foundation of Abramovich also invests in the assets in the United Kingdom, this way the entrepreneur controls 21.3 percent of the British company, manufacturer of the synthetic liquid fuel Velocys.