Interfax reported that Rosneft has made an offer to East Siberian Gas Company to purchase a 5.48% stake in Verkhnechonskneftegaz for RUB 1.5 billion.

The offer is valid until April 5th. The main shareholders in VCNG are TNK-BP with 68.51%, Rosneft - 25.94% and VSGK - 5.5%.

Rosneft, TNK-BP, VSGK and VCNG all declined to comment on this report.

VSGK earlier held 11.2% in VCNG. However, in 2007, it was decided that this share packet be divided between TNK-BP and Rosneft. TNK-BP purchased its shares but Rosneft did not implement the transaction on time. Later the arbitration court of Irkutsk accepted a lawsuit from the region's administration demanding an annulment of the VSGK board's decision to sell TNK-BP the share packet. Provisional measures were taken in regards to the 5.48% stake in VCNG.

A governmental commission for the oversight of foreign investment put off the review of TNK-BP's application to acquire 5.48% in VCNG owing to the implementation of the aforementioned measures.

In mid-February it was reported that TNK-BP and the Irkutsk administration settled the dispute regarding the 5.48% stake in VCNG and agreed to keep the packet on VSGK's balance sheet. In addition, the fourth arbitration appeals court, based in Chita, made a decision to delay a review of an appeal petition from the Irkutsk Region's property relations agency regarding the earlier decision to cancel the administration's lawsuit owing to "ongoing bi-lateral negotiations for reaching a compromise in relation to the disputed object and preparations for a settlement agreement."

Verkhnechonskneftegaz holds licenses for the Verkhnechonsk oil and gas condensate field, which is located in the Katangsk municipality of the Irkutsk region. The field's recoverable C1+C2 oil and condensate reserves are put at 201 million tonnes of oil and 3.36 million tonnes of condensate. Balanced natural gas reserves come to 95.5 billion cubic meters.

(Sourced from Interfax)