Oil major LUKOIL has
told the Russian government it wants to buy mid-sized rival
Bashneft, with the state still studying whether to
sell a controlling or minority stake in the firm to plug a
budget deficit, sources told Reuters.
The government owns 75 percent of Bashneft, which it
nationalised only two years ago. It is considering whether to
sell a stake of more than 50 percent, or to limit the sale to 25
percent through a stock market offering, several government and
industry sources said.
"There are many parties showing interest, including LUKOIL,"
a government source said.
LUKOIL declined to comment. It is Russia's second-largest
oil producer and its biggest private oil firm, already producing
as much oil as OPEC nations Angola or Nigeria.
Hit by collapsing oil prices, the government of President
Vladimir Putin has ordered a privatisation drive to cover a
budget deficit and is also considering selling stakes in oil
major Rosneft, shipping firm Sovkomflot and diamond
miner Alrosa.
A Bashneft sale would represent a significant turnaround
after more than 15 years of non-stop consolidation and
nationalisation of the world's largest energy industry, which
allowed the Kremlin to regain control after a chaotic
privatisation in the 1990s.
(Reuters)