Russ Oil-Gas

18.05.2006 MosNews - BASF, the German chemicals group, which has swapped assets with Gazprom, faces a legal suit from a private US oil and gas company over a prior arrangement with the Russian gas monopoly, The Financial Times reported. Moncrief Oil, a family-run Texas oil business, is claiming a right to a large stake in a new Siberian oilfield, which Gazprom had recently transferred to BASF. Moncrief maintains it has an agreement with Gazprom dating back to 1997 entitling it to 40 per cent of the Yuzhno-Russkoe field, the main source of gas for a pipeline to be built by Russia and Germany. Richard Moncrief, chairman and chief executive, told the FT they had already sent a notice to BASF and would file suit "within weeks". Moncrief says it signed a deal with a Gazprom subsidiary in 1997 to arrange investment of $800m in the development of Yuzhno Russkoe gas field and had been assured as recently as last year the agreement would be honoured. But last month, Gazprom completed a deal with BASF giving the German company a 35 per cent stake in Yuzhno-Russkoe. Moncrief has had one lawsuit against Gazprom, BASF and Eon of Germany dismissed in the US when a district court ruled the case was outside its jurisdiction. Moncrief is appealing against that decision. BASF confirmed it had received a letter from the US company and was considering how to respond.