Russ Oil-Gas

April 3, 2008 - The Associated Press - German-based Moncrief Oil International said Thursday it had filed a lawsuit against Russian energy giant OAO Gazprom in a dispute over ownership rights to a Siberian gas field purchased in the late 1990s. The company, wholly owned by Fort Worth, Texas-based Moncrief Oil, said in a statement that it had filed the suit with the District Court of Tarrant County, Texas, over Gazprom's use of confidential information in a 2005 lawsuit concerning the dispute that was thrown out of the courts. Moncrief maintains it obtained 40 percent exclusive ownership of the Yuzhno Russkoye gas fields from Gazprom in exchange for providing the Russian energy conglomerate with know-how and business plans. The value of the stake is estimated at around $8.5 billion. In the statement, the company said that it "has obtained evidence that during the course of the proceedings, Gazprom used confidential information and exerted its influence on an important industry partner ... demanding that the partner use its influence with Moncrief to pressure (it) to drop the ongoing litigation." It did not identify the partner. Gazprom, the world's largest gas company, produces gas from Arctic and Siberian gas fields and also owns a distribution pipe network in Germany through its Wingas partnership with BASF's Wintershall division. Last year a German court rejected a lawsuit filed by Moncrief against BASF claiming it actively persuaded Gazprom to breach its contract with the Texas company.