TotalFinaElf ready to invest in Siberia

TotalFinaElf is ready to invest $ 2.5 bn to $ 3 bn to develop eastern Siberia's Vankor oil and gas field but is having legal difficulties closing the deal.
The license to the field -- estimated to hold 125 mm tons of oil and 76 bn cm of gas -- belongs to Eniseineft, which is 59 % owned by the Anglo Siberian Oil.

Last April, TotalFinaElf agreed to buy 52 % of the project from Anglo Siberian for an undisclosed sum but hasn't been able to close the deal due to opposition from Eniseineft's minority shareholders, said Francois Rafin, head of TotalFinaElf's Russian division.