The Energy Fund has submitted an application to participate in the privatization of Bashneft, Kommersant reported. This was confirmed by a Vedomosti source close to one of the privatization participants. A fund representative declined to comment.

Igor Yusufov served as Minister of Energy from 2001 to 2004, and served on the boards of directors of Gazprom, Rosneft, and Transneft. In 2011 he founded the Energy Foundation.

The fund specializes in investing in the real sector of the economy of Russia and European countries, as stated on its website: “The main investment focus is enterprises in the energy, oil and gas and mining industries, as well as infrastructure facilities.” The fund has several mining projects in Yamal, Yakutia, Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug, and Krasnoyarsk Territory. In 2015, the fund competed at a tender for the Gavrikovskoye field in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, which eventually went to the Yug Rusi agricultural holding.

On May 6, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree excluding 50% plus 1 share of Bashneft from the list of strategic enterprises. The state owns 60.16% of voting shares (50.08% of the authorized capital) of Bashneft, Bashkiria - 25.79% of voting shares (25%). Interest in Bashneft shares was shown by Lukoil , Eduard Khudainatov's Independent Oil and Gas Company, Rosneft , RDIF, Antipinsky Oil Refinery, CJSC Tatneftegaz, Tatneft (according to Kommersant).

VTB . Capital (consultant) completed accepting applications last week and submitted them to the Ministry of Economic Development A consultant can determine a fair price for the privatized state stake in Bashneft, Economic Development Minister Alexey Ulyukaev said on Friday: “Already in August there will be the first report of the consultant, which will contain a proposal on the price range, his vision of a fair assessment of privatization, and this fair assessment will be the basis for in order to make a decision on the point value or price range at which the seller is ready to sell” (quote from TASS). Specific proposals for privatization will be sent to the government by the fall.

Igor Yusufov lays claim to Bashneft