Chinese Puzzle in Auction of Yukos
Vladimir Putin defended the controversial sale of Yukos's core producing asset yesterday and said the new owners were individuals who had been active in the energy sector for 'many years'.
Vladimir Putin defended the controversial sale of Yukos's core producing asset yesterday and said the new owners were individuals who had been active in the energy sector for "many years".
The Russian president intensified the mystery around Sunday's auction by suggesting that China National Petroleum Corporation might help manage the assets.
Mr Putin's intervention only raised suspicions that the Kremlin was behind the forced sale of Yukos's Yugansk business and had ensured it went to a bidder who supported him.
Some believe the state-owned oil corporation Gazprom could be linked to the unknown "brass-plate company" Baikal Finance, which is now in charge of 11% of Russian oil output.
But local newspapers noted yesterday that Igor Minibayev, a manager from the Surgut oil company - the fourth-biggest producer in Russia - represented Baikal at the auction.
The Gazeta newspaper said Baikal had been set up by a company called Reforma whose general director was a Surgut employee as of September 2003. Baikal was only recently registered - at a building housing a grocery in Tver, 125 miles north of Moscow.
Mr Putin's comments were especially surprising, given that a day before his finance minister said he knew nothing about Yugansk's new owner.
"As far as I've been informed, the auction conformed completely with current Russian law and I expect that all other activities in this area in the future will also take place according to law," Mr Putin said after meeting the German chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, in Schleswig.
Mr Putin did not identify the owners of Baikal, a company that does not possess a single oil well or even a website and yet lodged the winning $9.4bn (£4.9bn) bid. He said China's state-run CNPC, which has a cooperation deal with the state gas monopoly Gazprom and wanted to bid for Yugansk, might be found a role.
Meanwhile, Yukos said the deal violated a US bankruptcy stay and threatened to sue for $20bn damages against third parties in the sale, raising prospects of oil seizures abroad.
The Russian president intensified the mystery around Sunday's auction by suggesting that China National Petroleum Corporation might help manage the assets.
Mr Putin's intervention only raised suspicions that the Kremlin was behind the forced sale of Yukos's Yugansk business and had ensured it went to a bidder who supported him.
Some believe the state-owned oil corporation Gazprom could be linked to the unknown "brass-plate company" Baikal Finance, which is now in charge of 11% of Russian oil output.
But local newspapers noted yesterday that Igor Minibayev, a manager from the Surgut oil company - the fourth-biggest producer in Russia - represented Baikal at the auction.
The Gazeta newspaper said Baikal had been set up by a company called Reforma whose general director was a Surgut employee as of September 2003. Baikal was only recently registered - at a building housing a grocery in Tver, 125 miles north of Moscow.
Mr Putin's comments were especially surprising, given that a day before his finance minister said he knew nothing about Yugansk's new owner.
"As far as I've been informed, the auction conformed completely with current Russian law and I expect that all other activities in this area in the future will also take place according to law," Mr Putin said after meeting the German chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, in Schleswig.
Mr Putin did not identify the owners of Baikal, a company that does not possess a single oil well or even a website and yet lodged the winning $9.4bn (£4.9bn) bid. He said China's state-run CNPC, which has a cooperation deal with the state gas monopoly Gazprom and wanted to bid for Yugansk, might be found a role.
Meanwhile, Yukos said the deal violated a US bankruptcy stay and threatened to sue for $20bn damages against third parties in the sale, raising prospects of oil seizures abroad.
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