CONSORTIUM GETS FIVE PERCENT OF OIL COMPANY STOCK.

On winning a loan-for-shares auction on Tuesday, a consortium of the LukOil company and the Imperial Bank will take 5 percent of LukOil’s stock in trust, State Property Committee President and chairman of the Auction Commission Alfred Kokh reported. The consortium offered a loan worth $35.1 million to the government for a package of shares with the starting price of $35 million. Oil giant LukOil extracted 45.1 million tons of crude and refined 19.7 million tons of it last year. (7)

Russia Calls for Beefed Up OSCE at NATO’s Expense.