GAZPROM

, but efforts (orchestrated by Berezovsky?) to change the auction rules may break the consortium apart. The government had originally proposed selling 75% of Rosneft, which it anticipated would bring in around $2 billion. Now the government is offering a first-round sale of only 50% plus one share, which LUKoil, Shell, and Gazprom said is inadequate to ensure effective control of Rosneft’s many subsidiaries. A second-round sale of 46%, with 4% reserved for employees, could create a managerial nightmare.

There are also rumors that the government will reverse last November’s decision to allow foreigners to buy up to 15% of Rosneft. That would knock out not only the LUKoil-Gazprom-Shell group, but also a second group headed by Oneksimbank and