‘Russneft and Bashneft to merge’

Coming home: Russneft president Mikhail Gutseriyev

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By News Wires

 19 May 2010 07:00 GMT

Russian mid-sized oil companies Russneft and Bashneft will merge in two or three years to create a company with annual output equal to 30 million tonnes of crude, Russneft shareholder said today.

"In the future we are considering an initial public offering of the united company," Mikhail Gutseriyev told Vedomosti newspaper in the first interview after his return from a self-imposed exile in the UK.

"We will create a large international company but only if the authorities will passively observe this process. We need nothing else from them," he said, according to a Reuters report. He said he maintains full operational control of Russneft.

Gutseriyev, the founder of Russneft, returned to Russia this month after living abroad in exile for more than two years to…

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