RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT INCLUDES ROSNEFT IN 2004 PRIVATIZATION PLAN

MOSCOW, December 14 (RIA Novosti) - A relevant statement has been signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, reports the government press-service. Under this statement, the Russian state property management committee has been authorized to privatize state-owned shares in the Rosneft oil joint-stock company by making them a Russian Federation contribution to the statutory capital of the Rosneftegaz joint-stock company.

The statement was signed in accordance with the president's decree of December 7, 2004, No.1502, "On introducing amendments to the list of strategic enterprises and strategic joint-stock companies, endorsed by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation N.1009 on August 4, 2004."

The statement says that the 2004 program for the privatization of federal property and guidelines for federal property privatization for the period until 2006, endorsed by Russian government resolution No.1165-r of August 15, 2003 is to be amended. The Oil-And-Gas Sector with the list of state-owned open-end joint-stock companies, whose shares are to be privatized in 2004, shall be supplemented with the following position: oil company Rosneft, the city of Moscow.

On December 10, Vladimir Putin signed a decree whereby the Rosneft company shall be withdrawn from the list of strategic enterprises and strategic joint-stock companies, to be supplemented with the company Rosneftegaz.

Section 2 of the list of strategic enterprises and strategic joint-stock companies, endorsed by the presidential decree of August 4, 2004, shall be amended as follows: position 305 (oil company Rosneft, the city of Moscow) shall be cleared and position 400 (Rosneftegaz, the city of Moscow) shall be added, said the presidential decree.

The decree also contains the presidential approval of the Russian Federation's 100 percent Rosneft shares contribution to the Rosneftegaz statutory capital. Two independent appraisers are now busy appraising the assets in the deal on theGazprom and Rosneft merger, according to earlier information from a source in the presidential staff. The source denied answer to the inquiry about the term required for the completion of the deal on Gazprom and Rosneft assets merger.

Asked by RIA Novosti about which appraisal would be crucial for decision-making, the source said: " There will be a concerted appraisal as a result. Appraisal is always a kind of coordination." He also added that companies to clinch this kind of deal had been already selected-Technoexport and Gazpromneft. The latter has been set up to consolidate the Gazprom oil assets, said the source.