RusEnergy

UFA, May 24 (RIA Novosti) - Bashneft (RTS: BANE) has appointed the son of the leader of the south Urals region where it is based as its new director general, the oil company said Wednesday. The Bashneft board of directors appointed Ural Rakhimov, a son of Bashkortostan President Murtaza Rakhimov, and terminated Girman Gabitov's contract as general director. Rakhimov's contract will run for three years, to May 13, 2007. The company did not specify a reason for the change in its top management. Bashneft is Russia's eleventh largest oil company by production, accounting for 2.5% of crude produced nationally. The company produced 11.9 mln tons in 2005 (239,000 bbl/d), with sales revenue reaching 70.853 bln rubles ($2.6 bln).