German watchdog allows BP to buy 20% in Russia’s Rosneft field

MOSCOW, Oct 20 (PRIME) -- Germany’s Federal Cartel Office Bundeskartellamt has allowed oil giant BP to buy 20% in Taas-Yuryakh Neftegazodobucha, a unit of Russia state-run oil major Rosneft for development of the Srednebotubinskoye oil and gas condensate field, the authority said in a statement on Tuesday.

In June, Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin said the company signed an agreement to sell a 20% stake in Taas-Yuryakh Neftegazodobycha to BP for U.S. $750 million. In July, Armen Khanyan, head of the Federal Antimonopoly Service’s department for foreign investment control, said the deal needs no prior clearance by the service.

BP already transferred $150 million to Rosneft under the deal, according to the company’s report for April–June seen by PRIME in late July.

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