Chelyabinsk Oblast will build the largest oil-processing complex.
2026/06/16
A large-scale oil-processing facility will be built in Russia’s Chelyabinsk Oblast. On June 3, at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Governor Alexei Texler and Marina Makhrova, founder of Sigma LLC, signed an agreement aimed at developing the agro-industrial complex in the Southern Urals.
The company plans to build a grain storage facility and an oil-extraction plant in the city of Uvelsky. The total investment for the project will amount to 15 billion rubles.
Construction of the grain storage facility will commence this year and is expected to be completed by 2028; the oil‑pressing plant project will be implemented between 2029 and 2033. The plant will have a daily processing capacity of 1,200 tonnes of sunflower and rapeseed, with an annual processing capacity of 411,000 tonnes of oilseeds. The new facility will create 400 jobs.
“This is a strategic project for the agricultural sector of Chelyabinsk Oblast. It will not only boost the region’s capacity for processing oilseeds but also significantly enhance its export potential. We are steadily advancing our efforts to establish the Southern Urals as one of Russia’s key centers of the oil and fat industry,” noted Alexei Teksler.
Over the past 15 years, the region’s oilseed acreage has expanded from 21,000 hectares in 2010 to 362,100 hectares in 2025. According to the Chelyabinsk Oblast agricultural authorities, oilseed sowing this spring will cover 426,000 hectares. The regional government’s press office reports that oilseed production is expected to exceed 500,000 tons.
About Sigma Group
Sigma Group is the largest agro-industrial enterprise group in the Ural region and the Republic of Bashkortostan. The group’s oil‑production assets are located across several regions: Chelyabinsk Oblast, the Republic of Bashkortostan, Orenburg Oblast, Samara Oblast, and the Altai Krai. Sunflower oil is produced at two plants in the Republic of Bashkortostan. Sigma Group also supplies animal feed, primarily to poultry farms and livestock enterprises.
The holding company’s best-known brand is “Korona Izobiliya” (Crown of Izobilie) sunflower oil. The trademark is owned by Sigma LLC, based in Kopeysk. The company is part of an agro-industrial holding controlled by the family of Alexander Makhrov and Marina Makhrova. Sigma holds 20 registered trademarks related to food production, including “Zolotaya Kapelka” (Golden Drop), “Zoloto Orenburzhya” (Orenburg Gold), “Oslo Podsolnoye” (Sunflower Oil), “Chishminskoye Halal” (Chishminsk Halal Food), and others.
