Russian oil companies announce merger

Three major Russian oil companies will merge to form a company that boasts access to one of the world_s largest reserves of prospected oil, the Russian government announced on Monday. The deal will create a company that is 75% owned by the state and is to be formed out of merger of state-owned company Rosneft with Onaco and Slavneft. The new company will have an output capability of 55 million tonnes per year -a figure that will still be beaten by LUKOIL_s current annual output of 63-65 million tonnes.