Yukos to file $ 20 bn claim against Russian government

The beleaguered Russian oil giant Yukos has said it will file a $ 20 bn-damage claim against the Russian government and other parties that had a hand in the forced auction of its chief production unit.
The claim will be lodged just ahead of a February 16 court hearing in Houston, Texas on a bankruptcy petition by Yukos. Yukos In December sought bankruptcy protection from a Houston court in a bid to thwart the auction of its core asset, Yuganskneftegaz, which had pumped millions of bpd for Yukos.

The unit had been ceased by the Russian government and put up for sale to help pay billions of dollars in back taxes that the state says it is owed by Yukos. A previously unknown group, BaikalFinansGroup, bought Yuganskneftegaz at a secretive auction December $ 19 for $ 9.35 bn.
Another Russian oil company, Rosneft, which is soon to merge with state-controlled gas provider Gazprom to form a new state-run energy corporation, subsequently announced it had bought BaikalFinansGroup.

The controversial sale was denounced by Yukos and other critics who saw it as a transparent attempt to silence the political ambitions of its founder, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, currently on trial on fraud charges. Yukos will add Rosneft, Gazprom, Gazpromneft and BaikalFinansGroup to its damage claim.
India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC). said it is talking to Russia about assets of Yukos, following a report that it was seeking to buy 15 % stake for $ 2 bn in Yuganskneftegaz (Yugansk), the main production unit of Yukos.