The head of mid-sized Russian oil company Russneft, Mikhail Gutseriyev, said on Monday that he controlled 70 percent of the firm, which has annual revenue of $3.5 billion and is growing rapidly. "I own a controlling stake of around 70 percent. The rest belongs to my relatives," he told a news conference.
Gutseriyev built up the 280,000-barrel-per-day oil producer with the help of Swiss-based oil trader Glencore in just three years and aims to push production to about 500,000 barrels per day by the end of 2006 on the back of new acquisitions.
As his business grows, Gutseriyev will have a good chance of joining a small club of Russian billionaires if he decides to proceed with an initial public offering, which he has previously said could come by the end of decade.
He said on Monday that his firm was holding preliminary talks with banks, which could potentially help it to float up to 25 percent of its shares, but added that it was premature to discuss any timetable.
Russneft, which needed only refining assets to become a fully integrated oil producer, said last week it had acquired two plants, which would allow it to refine two-thirds of its output.
Russneft has said it was also planning to buy a 49 percent stake in Slovak oil pipeline operator Transpetrol from fallen Russian oil company YUKOS. The Russian government, which co-ordinates the supply of Russian oil to Transpetrol and other outlets to the West, has said it considered Russneft the preferred bidder for the Slovak company.
The news has strengthened the view of many analysts that Russneft's growth story is widely supported at the highest level in the Kremlin, which is keen to keep the energy industry under its control.
Gutseriyev also said Russneft had sold Volganeft, a small oil producing unit, to oil firm Samara-Nafta, which is controlled by US oil producer Amerada Hess Corp.