Rosneft sells its shares in Barents sea fields to pay for Yugansk

Rosneft sells its shares in Barents sea fields to pay for Yugansk

Moscow (Platts)--29Dec2004


Russia's state-owned Rosneft sold to Gazprom its shares in production units
Sevmorneftegaz and Rosshelf for $1.7-bil to pay back the bid by Baikal Finance
Group for participation in the Dec 19 auction of the Yukos key asset
Yuganskneftegaz, Russia's business daily Kommersant said Wednesday. Rosneft
paid out the sum received from the deal to Surgutneftegaz that had helped
Baikal Finance Group to place a $1.7-mil deposit to be allowed to bid for
Yuganskneftegaz, according to Kommersant. 

Rosneft, Gazprom and Surgutneftegaz declined to comment. Rosneft acquired
Yuganskneftegaz through buying Baikal Finance Group, the mysterious winner of
the auction, and is to raise finance to pay $9.35-bil for the 1-mil b/d oil
producer by Jan 14. Sevmorneftegaz was set up in 2002 by Rosneft and Gazprom's
subsidiary Rosshelf on a parity basis to develop 83-mil mt (606-mil bbl)
Prirazlomnoye oil field in the Pechora Sea and 3-tril cu m Shtokmanovskoye gas
field on the shelf of the Barents Sea off northwest Russia.

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