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Verkhnechonskneftegaz 11.29% stake valuated at $140 million

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MOSCOW, August 30 (RIA Novosti) - An 11.29% stake in Siberian oil and gas company Verkhnechonskneftegaz is valuated at $140 million, the governor of its home region said Wednesday.

Verkhnechonskneftegaz announced June 19 it would sell 11.29% of its shares through a tender and sent official purchase offers to potential bidders such as crude producers Rosneft, LUKoil, Surgutneftegaz, TNK-BP and Gazprom Neft. But the auction was invalidated because the bid envelopes were opened before the results of the auction were finalized.

"Today experts already valuate this package of shares at $140 million," said Alexander Tishanin, governor of the Irkutsk Region.

With a 62.7% stake in the regional producer, Russian-British joint venture TNK-BP is the largest shareholder in the company, which is licensed to develop the Verkhnechonsk hydrocarbon deposit, one of the largest in East Siberia and slated to be the largest source of crude for a major pipeline to the Pacific Ocean and onward to energy-hungry Asia. State-owned oil company Rosneft owns 25.94% and East Siberian Gas Company, set up by TNK-BP and the Irkutsk Region administration, holds 11.29%.

Tishanin said preparations were under way to hold a second auction and its timeframe depended on the position of TNK-BP, the company's major shareholder.

"If we see a repetition of the situation that took place on June 30, when the bid envelopes were opened before the auction results were finalized, it will be incorrect," Tishanin said, adding that the tender must be organized in a legitimate procedure.

The Verkhnechonsk deposit is at the center of Russia's plans to be the dominant energy supplier to Asian markets. Exploratory drilling is yet to be completed, but its probable and possible reserve base is estimated at 1.48 billion barrels of oil, 129 billion cubic meters of natural gas and 25 billion barrels of condensate - enough to meet China's current oil import needs for more than two years.

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