Russian gas giant plans Yukos bid

Yukos says the authorities are seeking its destruction

Russian gas monopoly Gazprom is to bid for Yugansk, the arm of embattled oil giant Yukos put up for sale to pay for back taxes.

The firm, which is 38% state-owned, is seen as leading contender in the $8.65bn (£4.6bn) sale on 19 December.

Yugansk was put up for auction after being seized to pay a back tax bill totalling more than $20bn.

Critics, including Yukos's board, say the move to sell Yugansk was an attempt to exert state control over Yukos.

Gazprom is already in the process of buying two state-owned oil firms.

The purchase of Yugansk would cement state control over Yukos, and give Gazprom 20% of Russian oil output.

'Extraordinary pressure'

Earlier in November, Yukos accused the Russian government in a statement of seeking to bring about its "total destruction".

The entire management board is currently staying abroad, in the wake of a summons from prosecutors wanting to interview Yukos's finance chief.

"The actions taken against members of the Yukos management team in the last few days are more deliberate than the cycle of raids and demands placed on the company in the recent past," the company said.

"It is our belief that this extraordinary pressure... has specific aims: the removal of the management, the derailing of any settlement process with the Russian authorities and the total destruction of Yukos."

The statement accompanied a meeting of Yukos shareholders to discuss the possibility of filing for bankruptcy.

A bankruptcy filing would allow the company to unfreeze its assets, and raise much-needed cash.

The sale of Yugansk - which accounts for 60% of Yukos' output - was forced on the firm by its huge tax bill for the years from 2000 onwards.