Russia's Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko said in Moscow Thursday that the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) could be offered a 20 percent stake in a state-owned Russian company which will run Yuganskneftegaz, the main production unit of embattled oil giant Yukos.

Khristenko did not mention the name of the company that will eventually own Yuganskneftegaz which produces 60 percent of Yukos'output and was sold in a government auction on December 19 to raise fund to cover part of Yukos' multi-billion-dollar tax arrears.

But Khristenko did confirm that Yuganskneftegaz will not be controlled by either Gazprom or Rosneft, two government-owned companies, the Interfax news agency reported.

Rosneft last week purchased Baikalfinansgroup, the previously unknown company which unexpectedly won the auction bid for Yuganskneftegaz.

"Yuganskneftegaz will not be among the assets to be consolidated, primarily because Gazprom's main shareholder does not intend to increase its direct participation beyond a controlling interest," Khristenko said in a statement.

He noted that under agreements between Russia and CNPC, both sides are allowed to buy one another's assets in accordance with bilateral strategic understandings covering the expansion of energy cooperation.

Also on Thursday, a Yukos official said Khristenko's statement reflects an attempt by Gazprom and Rosneft to avoid being held accountable for the mysterious sale of Yuganskneftegaz.

"We view today's statement on plans dealing with Yuganskneftegaz as an attempt by certain people linked with Gazprom and Rosneft to avoid being held accountable for the illegitimate and flawed sale of Yukos' core asset, as well as an attempt by these people to shoulder this responsibility onto the state," Interfax quoted Yukos' executive board member Alexander

Temerko as saying.

Yukos press secretary Alexander Shadrin vowed that regardless of who eventually becomes the formal owner of Yuganskneftegaz, Yukos will continue to take all lawful measures to ensure they provide compensation for the damage caused by the "forced removal"of this asset.

Arkady Volsky, a member of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, said the offer to CNPC is a positive development.

"The Chinese are reliable partners and will pay cash for a package of Yuganskneftegaz shares," he said.

Source: Xinhua