RusEnergy

07-30-2005 Reuters - A U.S. federal appeals court has said Canada's Norex Petroleum can sue the Russian shareholders of oil firm TNK-BP , reinstating a $1.5 billion case against some of Russia's richest men, Norex said on Monday. Norex, an alliance of Canadian firms specialising in cold weather oilfield work, says the Russian investors named in its suit illegally took control of its Russian subsidiary Yugraneft. The defendants in the case include Viktor Vekselberg, Len Blavatnik and Alfa Group, owned by Mikhail Fridman. In 2003, the three magnates joined forces with Britain's BP Plc to create TNK-BP, Russia's second biggest oil firm. Norex filed the suit at the New York southern district court in February 2002, before the formation of TNK-BP, which was sealed with a handshake between British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The case was dismissed two years later, but reinstated by an appeals court last week, Norex said. TNK-BP said it was confident of winning the battle for Yugraneft, which produces around 10,000 barrels of crude oil per day, less than 1 percent of the firm's total output. "We are very confident of our position and we are prepared to argue our case in court," said TNK-BP spokeswoman Marina Dracheva. "It's important that this latest court decision deals simply with jurisdiction. It does not deal with the merits of the case," she said. "We have already won more than 20 cases which concerned the merits of the case." Analysts said the outcome of the case was hard to predict. "But we do not believe there are any implications for TNK-BP as a company," said Aton brokerage in a written research note. "Rather, we see it as limited to the shareholders of predecessor companies. "We expect the conflict to be resolved -- or ultimately settled, though in the meantime the news is seen as a slight negative as it serves as a reminder of the lack of clarity surrounding past deals -- a background that TNK shares with other Russian oil companies." Analysts at Alfa Bank said the new hearings would take place in September or October.