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Rosneft will not participate in Alrosa’s gas assets auction on current conditions

Company requested the Finance Ministry and the Property Management Agency to change auction terms

© Artem Korotaev/TASS

MOSCOW, January 9. /TASS/. Rosneft will not participate in the auction for gas assets of Russian diamond miner Alrosa on current conditions, press secretary of the Russian oil producer Mikhail Leontyev told TASS on Tuesday.

"We received expert assessments [of gas reserves status - TASS] that are confident for us. In absence of official confirmation of reserves and in absence of a consent to the subsequent right of claim [against Alrosa - TASS] if reserves are not confirmed after acquisition of assets, we cannot participate in this risky attempt on such conditions," the press secretary said. He did not clarify whether Rosneft completely abandons participation in the auction.

"We’re going to see," Leontyev said responding to a question whether Rosneft continues disputing terms of the auction.

Petitions do not bind companies to do anything, he said responding to a question whether Rosneft’s affiliates RN-Holding, RN-Gas and Bashneft recall their petitions for an authorization to bid in the auction from the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS).

Rosneft presented an application to the FAS for an authorization to bid in the tender for gas assets of Alrosa and concurrently submitted a document disputing tender conditions, press secretary of Russian oil major Mikhail Leontyev told TASS on December 29, 2017.

Rosneft specially presented the application, so that nobody blamed the company that it did not present the application in time and attempts to dispute conditions because it missed the submission deadline, Leontyev noted.

Rosneft also requested the Finance Ministry and the Property Management Agency to change auction terms because, as the oil company believes, they do not correspond to international standards and lack of full information about offered assets bear risks for buyers. The oil company also requested the Russian subsoil management agency Rosnedra to confirm the actual geological quality of Alrosa’s gas assets.

Alrosa will hold an auction for sale of its gas assets Geotransgaz and Urengoy Gas Company on February 19, 2018. The starting price for the auction is fixed at 30 bln rubles ($525.9 mln), the Russian diamond miner said on December 25 of the last year. Bids for participation in the auction will be accepted from December 26, 2017 until January 29, 2018.

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