Gazprom does not have to borrow from foreigners to finance its bid for Yuganskneftegaz, the main production unit of the embattled oil company YUKOS

Gazprom does not have to borrow from foreigners to finance its bid for Yuganskneftegaz, the main production unit of the embattled Russian oil company YUKOS. It could borrow from Surgutneftegaz or the Russian government, experts say. Surgutneftegaz is said to have about $6 billion in cash. Alfa Bank analysts say the main restriction is time needed to negotiate loan terms and procedure, raising doubts over the planned December 19 auction of Surgutneftegaz after a Houston court granted an injunction blocking the sale. “Even if the US court ruling does not prevent the property of YUKOS shareholders from being auctioned off, at least it will make Russian officials more careful in the future,” analysts say. According to Veles Capital, Sberbank, Vneshtorgbank and Gazprombank could lend money to Gazprom. Analysts at Prospect investment company also think Gazprom could borrow inside Russia. They do not rule out that some foreign banks will not pull out of the international consortium of lenders despite the US ruling, and Gazprom will have enough cash to buy Surgutneftegaz. Analysts think the auction will be held on December 19 as US courts don’t have jurisdiction in the YUKOS case. At the same time, they say, even if Yuganskneftegaz is not auctioned off, this will not be a big problem for the government. “In this case, the main production unit of YUKOS could be transferred to state property to settle the company’s debts, to be sold later,” they suggested. On Thursday, a US bankruptcy court in Houston granted a temporary injunction blocking the auction of Yuganskneftegaz. YUKOS now has 10 business days to seek a permanent injunction. The YUKOS management hoped that the consortium of international banks, including Deutsche Bank, ABN AMRO, BNP Paribas, Calyon, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DrKW) and JP Morgan, would refuse a loan to Gazprom, estimated at about $10 billion. All those banks have property in the United States, and they have to respect American laws.