Igor Sechin, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Russian oil major OAO Rosneft (ROSN.RS), may lose his seat after Yury Petrov, head of Russian Federal Property Fund, appeared on the company's final list of candidates for the new board, Vedomosti daily reported Thursday.
Petrov is seen as having close ties with Dmitry Medvedev, the newly elected president, who will take office after Vladimir Putin steps down in May.
Sechin, who is also Kremlin Deputy Chief of Staff, has been one of Putin's key hard-line allies, but his position in Rosneft could be in danger if the state-controlled company, as some analysts expect, prepares for a major change of staff, Vedomosti said.