An international arbitration court in Brussels has rejected French oil major Total's claim on a vast hydrocarbon deposit in East Siberia to which Rosneft holds a license, the Russian state-owned oil company said Tuesday. Total had sued Anglo Siberian Oil Co., now owned by Rosneft, in 2004, saying it acquired 52% in the Vankor oil and gas field in Russia's Krasnoyarsk Territory under a 2002 agreement with ASOC.

Rosneft claimed the "terms and conditions of the deal had not come into effect." "Total claimed a 52% stake in the Vankor oil deposit," Rosneft said in a statement. "The arbitration court has rejected Total's claims and ruled it should compensate for Anglo Siberian Oil Company's legal and arbitration expenses." Rosneft acquired ASOC in 2003, and the license to develop the Vankor oil deposits with reserves estimated at over 2.94 billion bbl, is now held by its subsidiary, Vankorneft.

Total reportedly later approached Rosneft with cooperation proposals, but the company turned them down, saying Rosneft will develop the crucial deposits on its own. Vankor crude will be pumped to the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline, an ambitious multibillion-dollar project to send Russian hydrocarbons to energy-hungry Asia-Pacific region countries, which will come online in 2008. Rosneft President Sergei Bogdanchikov said last week the company plans to produce up to 242.55 million bbl a year at Vankor under the project. A court decision on another Total claim on a 60% stake, worth $1 million, in the North Vankor deposits to ASOC is still pending, Rosneft said. Source: Ria Novosti

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