MOSCOW, 5 April 2007 — Two Italian energy giants won an auction for an array of assets of the bankrupt Yukos oil company yesterday and quickly offered to bolster the Kremlin’s control of energy sector by selling the bulk of them to state gas monopoly Gazprom.
It was the first time foreign firms have purchased assets of Yukos at a series of controversial auctions aimed at liquidating the company, which was driven into bankruptcy after it was hit by billions of dollars in back-tax bills. Observers have said the tax campaign and the parallel jailing of billionaire former owner Mikhail Khodorkovsky were orchestrated to seal state control of Russia’s hydrocarbons and punish a perceived political opponent to President Vladimir Putin.
Acting through a joint venture — EniNeftegaz — the Italian companies — Eni SpA and Enel SpA — won the auction with a bid of $5.83 billion (4.36 billion euros) — or just $260 million (194 million euros) above the start price. The lot included a 20-percent stake in Gazprom’s oil division and the Arcticgaz and Urengoil gas companies, as well as a bundle of smaller assets. Eni owns 60 percent of the joint venture while Enel holds 40 percent. In a statement posted on its website, Eni touted the deal as the company’s “entrance into the Russian upstream market as a major player.” Chief Executive Paolo Scaroni called the deal “a major step forward in Eni’s strategy of securing reserves in the world’s leading hydrocarbon producing countries.”