RusEnergy

MOSCOW, February 9 (RIA Novosti) - U.S.-based oil major Chevron and other international giants are interested in acquiring Yukos assets, a spokesman for the Russian company's bankruptcy receiver said Friday. The company, once Russia's largest crude producer, was declared bankrupt August 1 after three years of litigation with authorities over tax arrears. "The bankruptcy receiver's office has indeed received letters from a number of large international companies, including U.S. company Chevron, expressing interest in buying some of Yukos' assets," Nikolai Lashkevich said. A consortium of appraisers estimated Yukos assets at $22 billion. The Yukos group, whose founder Mikhail Khodorkovsky is serving an eight-year prison term for fraud and tax evasion, now faces multi-billion dollar claims from creditors, including state-controlled oil company Rosneft, Rosneft-owned former production unit Yuganskneftegaz, the Federal Tax Service, and more than 20 other companies.