Yukos unit gets independent audit

Yukos received a default notice on a $1.6bn loan on Wednesday

The Russian government has agreed to allow an independent valuation of a key Yukos subsidiary which could be sold off to pay the oil firm's tax bill.

The country's Justice Ministry has appointed a German investment bank to value Yuganskneftegaz, an oil unit which pumps 60% of Yukos' daily output.

The division is at the centre of the government's dispute with Yukos, which it is pressing for $3.4bn in back tax.

Yukos says the unit, which pumps 1.7m barrels a day, is worth $30bn (£16bn).

International practice

Analysts said the decision to appoint Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, part of the Allianz Group, showed the Russian government wanted to follow international practice in its pursuit of Yukos' debts.

Bailiffs seeking payment of $3.4bn in back taxes from 2000 have threatened to sell off Yukos assets, thought likely to include Yuganskneftegaz.

Yukos has warned that oil production could be halted if the company is broken up while claiming it may have to file for bankruptcy in the event of the unit's sale.

The Justice Ministry refroze assets belonging to the unit on Monday despite a previous court order declaring that such a move was illegal.

It said it had done so because Yukos had failed to maintain payments.

Differing valuations

"The good news is that they have selected someone independent and reputable," said Aton oil analyst Steven Dashevsky.

"The uncertainty that remains is whether the price that is appraised will be the price that will be paid to the company," he added.

Analysts have valued the unit, the firm's largest subsidiary, at between $12bn and $20bn.

The trial of Mikhail Khodorkovsky resumed on Thursday after a one week break.

The former Yukos chief executive, who is still a leading shareholder in the company, is standing trial on charges of fraud and tax evasion.