CNPC To Bid On Key Yukos Assets
China National Petroleum Corp., one of China's state-owned
petroleum corporations, plans to bid on Yugansk, the key
part of Yukos, formerly Russia's premier petroleum distributor.
The estimated value of the assets is US$9 billion.
Yugansk owns the Trans-Siberian pipeline and other transport
assets which takes gas from central Asia to East Asia.
Before Yukos was sanctioned by the Russian government,
the company was planning on extending the pipeline to
the Russian Far East, where it would have been able to
supply China
and Japan.
Earlier in the month, CNPC had threatened to sue over
oil
contract losses.
Before the Russian government arrested the former CEO
on tax evasion charges, Yukos was planning on extending
the pipeline to north China, while the Japanese government
was attempting to get Japanese companies to sign long-term
contracts if the line was extended to Russian far eastern
ports.
In recent months, the Russian government's policy has
become clear: it intends to break up Yukos and use the
money from the sell-off of assets to pay taxes claimed
by the government. The harsh move has heightened western
suspicions of President Putin's intentions, and recently,
US president Bush has publicly criticized the moves.
The Chinese government, in contrast, doesn't care. So
great has been the rise in Chinese energy's demands that
Chinese president Hu Jintao has focused a large portion
of foreign policy on sealing energy contracts in the Middle
East, Africa and in offshore
deposits off the coast of China.
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