RusEnergy

21 November 2006 - Upstream onLine - Russian producer TNK-BP will bid only for selected assets of bankrupt Russian player Yukos, should there be state auctions, a company executive said today. "If the Yukos assets are sold in one big package, I would suspect that we are probably not going to be significantly interested," Tony Considine, TNK-BP's executive vice president, told a news conference. "If it is a fragmented package of assets, then no doubt we will bid if there is a process to bid," he added. Yukos, once Russia's largest oil firm, was brought to bankruptcy with back tax claims of over $30 billion, a process which the company's owners say was politically motivated. It lost its key production unit, Yuganskneftegaz, which is now controlled by state oil player Rosneft , but still has two smaller oil units and several refineries. A consortium of five companies will value the remaining assets by 19 January in a key step toward carving up the company. Creditors - who include tax authorities and Rosneft pursuing massive back-tax claims - are seeking at least $24 billion from Yukos. The receiver is trying to raise that cash by selling off the company's assets or re-floating its subsidiaries. TNK-BP has repeatedly said it was looking for more refining assets in Russia or neighbouring states, but many analysts expect that only gas monopoly Gazprom might become Rosneft's only serious challenger during the sale of Yukos assets.