MOSCOW, October 21 (RIA Novosti) - Gazprom's acquisition of Sibneft oil company is crucial to raising the natural gas monopoly's profile as a major player on the global hydrocarbons market, the Gazprom chief executive said Friday after signing the $13 billion deal with Chelsea soccer club owner Roman Abramovich.
Alexei Miller said the acquisition of Russia's largest privately-owned oil producer was paramount for Gazprom's ambitions to become a global company.
He said Sibneft's development strategy was to be reconsidered. "If we set ourselves the goal of ensuring the steady supply of oil and refined products to our customers, the role of a long-term investment program will have to be enhanced and we will have to pay due attention to long-term and capital investment." He said Gazprom sought to boost oil production and would be spending more on oil exploration in order to expand its reserves.
The Gazprom CEO also promised that Sibneft would become more transparent. "We plan to provide transparency in managerial decision making, as well as transparency of the company's financial structure and plans."
Miller said Gazprom's expansion into the oil products market would make competition between oil producers tougher, but that consumers were the ones who stood to benefit.
