RusEnergy

MOSCOW, May 31 (RIA Novosti) - Itera, Russia's No. 1 independent natural gas producer, said Wednesday it would buy an 80%-stake in Norway-based Maanwende B.V. for $122 million from its holding company. The deal to buy the stake from Cyprus-based Itera Holdings Limited, which owns 99.99% of Itera, was approved by the board of directors May 25. The oil and gas company said in a statement that Maanwende owned two oilfields in Russia's Khanty-Mansi area in West Siberia. No other details of the deal have been disclosed so far. Itera is the world's fourth largest natural gas company in terms of reserves. It holds a virtual monopoly on gas trading in two key former Soviet republics, Georgia and Ukraine, which lie at the gateway to western European energy markets. The company is also an increasingly important player in the energy-rich Caspian Sea region. Itera, whose charter capital is 60 million rubles ($2.23 million), plans an initial public offering of its shares in 2007.