GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS DENY REPORTS ABOUT PLANNED

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HANDOVER OF ZARUBEZHNEFT TO GAZPROM#

MOSCOW, November 23 (RIA Novosti) - Oleg Gordeyev, Deputy Director of the Federal Agency for Energy Industries, in a RIA interview has denied reports that the Russian government is contemplating the swap of Zarubezhneft for a stake in a Gazprom subsidiary, with the ultimate objective being to increase its stake in the natural gas giant.

"Being a member of the Zarubezhneft Board, I can say that no official letters or proposals... on Zarubezhneft's merger with someone have come in today. These are just rumors," Gordeyev said.

Earlier, Gazprom Chief Executive Alexei Miller told RIA that Zarubezhneft may be handed over to Gazprom along with the 100% stake in Rosneft, to pay for a 10.7% stake in a Gazprom subsidiary.

According to Miller, the preliminary results of Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein's valuation indicate that the Gazprom stake the government will need to gain control over the company (10.7 percent) costs more than Rosneft's entire stock. In case these preliminary conclusions are confirmed, one possible arrangement could be for the government to transfer the oil company Zarubezhneft into Gazprom's hands, he said.

The swap between Gazprom and Rosneft stakes will bring the government's interest in Gazprom up to 50%-plus-one shares.

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