RusEnergy

01-20-2006 The Moscow Times - TNK-BP has hired Deutsche Bank and UBS to handle the sale of its Udmurtneft oil producing unit, a person familiar with the deal said Thursday. The country's No. 2 oil company, which declined to comment on the issue, had delayed the sale of the unit in November, saying it needed more time to draw up a valuation. "This is up for sale. Deutsche Bank and UBS are running the sell side," the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Udmurtneft, TNK-BP's key asset in the republic of Udmurtia, produced 5.8 million tons of oil in 2004, according to the TNK-BP web site. The unit has reserves of around 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent, and could be worth over $3 billion, one industry source familiar with the situation said Thursday. Vedomosti has reported that TNK-BP plans to sell assets in European Russia worth up to $3 billion and focus on production on the other side of the Ural Mountains in Western Siberia. Spokespeople of UBS and Deutsche Bank in London declined to comment. A TNK-BP source said that no firm list of bidders for Udmurtneft existed yet. Potential buyers may be asked to submit their preliminary bidding proposals before the end of February, said three people with knowledge of the sale. TNK-BP has sent out papers outlining its business to potential bidders, said two of the people, who have seen copies of the document. The bidders could include a number of Asian energy companies, three people familiar with the sale said. China National Petroleum Corp. and India's Oil & Natural Gas Corp. may be among the bidders for the $3 billion venture, the people said. China Petrochemical Corp., Asia's biggest refiner, is also considering a bid for the venture, the people said, asking not to be identified because talks with clients are confidential. China and India, which consume 11 percent of global oil production, need energy supplies to sustain the fastest growth among the world's 20 biggest economies. "The governments of China and India are more concerned about high oil demand in coming decades, and that's going to drive a rise in energy deals," said Tim Leung, who helps manage $500 million of Asian stocks at IG Investment in Hong Kong. "They're also trying to cut reliance on areas under U.S. influence, such as Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Russia's one option." Malaysia's state-owned Petroliam Nasional, or Petonas, may also bid, the people said. Liu Weijiang, division head of the international department of China National Petroleum, said he was not aware of any acquisition. China Petrochemical, known as Sinopec Group, was not available to comment. Petronas spokesman Azman Ibrahim did not respond for requests for comment. A spokesman at Oil & Natural Gas declined to comment. TNK-BP declined to comment also on the Asian buyers thought to be looking at the business. State-owned China National Petroleum may bid together with its Hong Kong-listed PetroChina unit through an equally owned venture, the people said. "Our company is pursuing the goal of boosting output domestically and from overseas markets," said PetroChina spokesman Bi Jianguo. He declined to comment on the Russian deal.