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Rosneft to split Tomskneft with Gazprom



By Upstream staff 

Russian oil giant Rosneft will split its Tomskneft oil unit 50-50 with Gazprom, boosting the oil business of the gas monopoly, sources close to the deal said today.

The deal will end a guessing game over the real owners of the 240,000 barrels-per-day oil producer. Rosneft had said it sold half of Tomskneft in July after buying the unit in May at a state auction of assets of bankrupt company Yukos.

Tomskneft would become the first Yukos asset that Rosneft has agreed to share. The deal comes days after President Vladimir Putin blessed Gazprom chairman Dmitry Medvedev's candidacy to succeed him at a presidential election next year.

"Tomsk's cash flows as well as production volumes and export marketing will be equally split from January," one source said, adding that the state-controlled gas export monopoly would own the stake through its Gazprom Neft oil arm.

Rosneft bought Tomskneft and other assets of Yukos in one lot in May for $6.8 billion, Reuters reported.

Rosneft produces around 2.3 million bpd and the sale would reduce its output by around 5%.

The addition of 120,000 bpd would increase oil production of Gazprom, the world's largest gas producer, by 14% bringing it very close to the landmark figure of 1 million bpd.

Gazprom, Russia's most valuable company and one of the world's top 10 companies by market capitalisation, extended intraday gains on the news to close 2.6% up, heavily outperforming the broader index.

Gazprom Neft closed 3.5% up, while Rosneft underperformed the market to close 0.18% down. The MICEX stock index closed 1.11% up.

"The split would be done in a way very similar to how Gazprom Neft manages Slavneft with TNK-BP. Each company markets crude and products independently," said a second source.

Gazprom Neft shares oil venture Slavneft 50/50 with TNK-BP, the oil arm of oil major BP in Russia.


Tuesday, 18 December, 2007, 17:15 GMT  | last updated: Tuesday, 18 December, 2007, 17:15 GMT

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