(MENAFN) Russian state-run energy group Rosneft has gained full control over independent gas producer Itera as it seeks to compete with domestic rivals Gazprom and Novatek, the Financial Times reported.
Rosneft bought the remaining 49 percent of Itera it did not already own from the company�s founder Igor Makarov for USD2.9 billion.
The acquisition is the Rosneft�s second major deal in less than a year, after it bought TNK-BP for USD55 billion in April, becoming the world�s largest publicly traded oil producer.
Rosneft and Itera teamed up to form a joint-venture last year with Rosneft receiving a 51 per cent stake in the JV in exchange for bringing its Kynsko-Chaselsk gasfield under the Itera umbrella plus USD173.4 million in cash.
Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that independent producers should have the right to export liquefied natural gas to Asia, suggesting that Gazprom�s monopoly on gas exports would soon be broken for the first time.
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