RusEnergy

09.06.2005 15:59 MSK MosNews - India is still interested in buying a stake in state-owned Rosneft Oil Company, despite legal questions that arose after it purchased a core unit of the embattled Yukos Oil Company, India's Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said on Thursday, June 9. "I am in constant contact with the (Russian Energy) Minister (Viktor) Khristenko (about the possible purchase of a stake in Rosneft)," Aiyar told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference in Baku. "The Kremlin has told us that they will come back to us at the appropriate time so we can resume talks about possible acquisitions. We're still interested in buying stakes in Rosneft or whatever they plan to offer." Russia wants to sell a stake in Rosneft to fund a purchase of shares in natural gas monopoly Gazprom. It originally planned to merge the two firms but abandoned the plan after Rosneft bought Yukos' main production unit, Yuganskneftegaz. A U.S. court had earlier put a stay order on the sale of the unit. Russia now plans to use an elaborate funding mechanism for the Gazprom share purchase. It has created a special financial vehicle which will borrow money for the Gazprom share purchase, and then pay back the loans by selling part of Rosneft. Last month a source in Russia's Energy Ministry said Russia hoped China would also be interested in buying a Rosneft stake. Russia has not yet said how much of Rosneft it will sell, but the proceeds will have to be enough to buy 10.74 percent of Gazprom, the stake it needs to get a majority of Gazprom. It has also yet to say how much it will pay for the Gazprom stake, but Russia's Economy Minister German Gref already said that the state considers it fair to pay $6 billion to $8.5 billion for the shares.