MOSCOW, June 20 (RIA Novosti) - The East Siberian Gas Company said Tuesday it will sell an 11.29% stake in Siberian oil and gas company Verkhnechonskneftegaz.
With a 62.7% stake in the regional producer, Russian-British joint venture TNK-BP is the largest shareholder in the company, which is licensed to develop the Verkhnechonsk hydrocarbon deposit, one of the largest in East Siberia and slated to be the largest source of crude for a pipeline to the Pacific Ocean.
State-owned oil company Rosneft owns 25.94% and East Siberian Gas Company, set up by TNK-BP and the Irkutsk Region administration, holds 11.29%.
TNK-BP and the Irkutsk Region administration have agreed the terms and the scheme of selling the shares of Verkhnechonskneftegaz through a tender and have sent out purchase offers to interested parties, the East Siberian Gas Company said.
The Verkhnechonsk deposit is at the center of Russia's plans to be the dominant energy supplier to Asian markets. Exploratory drilling has not been completed, but its probable and possible reserve base is estimated at 1.48 billion barrels of oil, 129 billion cubic meters of natural gas and 25 billion barrels of condensate - enough to meet China's current oil import needs for more than two years.
