Gazprom gains Sibneft in purchase

Russia’s Gazprom, the biggest gas firm in the world, signed papers Wednesday to seal a deal in which it will take control of oil company Sibneft for a purchase price of $13.1 billion.

The deal brings Gazprom 72.7 percent of Sibneft and with in control of the company’s output of 660,000 barrels of oil per day. The acquisition gives the government-controlled Gazprom 75.7 percent of Sibneft in total.

An announcement by the parties to the deal said that they had signed a binding document, and Gazprom said that is board would vote to approve the transaction when it meets next.

Analysts say that Gazprom got a good deal for Sibneft, as it would have commanded a much higher price if it had been sold internationally.

Because Gazprom is a state-controlled company, the acquisition gives the Kremlin control of more than one-third of the oil in Russia.

This gives Russian President Vladimir Putin the opportunity to use energy policy to attempt to gain back some of the world influence lost to Moscow when the Soviet Union fell in 1991.

The announcement of the deal sent Gazprom’s shares up 0.8 percent in Moscow and up by 1 percent in London.