Interfax reported that the Basic Element holding, whose application to acquire a blocking stake in RussNeft the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service has been looking into for over eight months will run the oil company together with Switzerland's Glencore.

Mr Oleg Deripaska chief beneficiary of BasEl said "We are waiting for the Federal Antimonopoly Service to authorize the acquisition of Mikhail Gutseriyev's stake and are going to work in the company together with Glencore as a partner. He said if a person wanted to quit we are ready principally."

Glencore is a long-standing partner of RussNeft. Mr Gutseriyev the former RussNeft chief founded the oil company with financial support from Glencore. In 2005, Glencore disclosed that it acquired from 40% to 49% in several oil producing Glencore subsidiaries. A Glencore representative said last September that the company had applied for clearance to buy minority stakes in three RussNeft upstream units.

Glencore is part owner of United Company RUSAL the biggest enterprise of Deripaska's BasEl.