Two separate stories today look at the acquisitions of rights to develop Kovytka and Trebs and Titov, Russia’s largest oil and gas fields by its industry giants, both suggesting ways in which the deals are indicative of the Kremlin’s energy strategy.

New Europe discusses Gazprom’s win over Rosneft last week for the rights to Kovykta in Eastern Siberia (which it got ‘virtually for free‘, suggested one analyst).  The deal indicates the government’s striated view of its energy giants, says the article: Gazprom, Rosneft and Novatek are apparently ‘champions‘ of gas, oil, and LNG respectively: ‘Rosneft has been trying to gain control of Kovykta so that it might create a more diversified energy structure. The state obviously prefers to promote specialization rather than diversification in the energy sector.‘ 

Meanwhile, Vladimir Yevtushenkov, the head of Sistema, is quoted by Bloomberg as saying that his oil unit, Bashneft, was the only bidder in the tender for the massive Trebs and Titov Arctic oil field last December because Russia wanted to set up another ‘vertically integrated company to increase competition‘.  The tender, he said, amounted to a ‘favor‘, the likes of which had already been granted to Lukoil and Surgutneftegas in the past.