MOSCOW Energy official welcomes Exxon's interest in company

Exxon is considering an $11 billion stake in a Russian oil producer.
MOSCOW (AP) -- Russia's Energy Minister Igor Yusufov said Friday that it would be "a positive step" if Exxon Mobil Corp. bought a stake in Russia's largest oil company, the newly formed YukosSibneft, currently the subject of a wide-ranging legal probe.
"Of course, it fills us with pride that discussions are under way with the first company in the world, Exxon Mobil," Yusufov said. "And to receive the addition of such a strong partner, we believe that would be a positive step."
U.S. oil companies have been eyeing Russia's vast fields as a source to meet growing world energy demand. But American companies have stepped more slowly into the still-risky Russian marketplace than European competitors.
BP PLC merged its Russian assets with Russian company TNK International this year in a $7.7 billion deal, one of the largest-ever investments by a Western company in post-communist Russia.
Recent merger
Exxon Mobil is reportedly considering a 25 percent stake in YukosSibneft for about $11 billion. Yukos completed its merger last week with its smaller rival Sibneft to create one of the world's top oil producers, and will formally become the new entity after a November shareholder meeting. ChevronTexaco Corp. is also reportedly interested in a stake in the new oil giant.
Company officials have not commented on the talks. Exxon Mobil head Lee Raymond was in Moscow last week for a conference organized by the World Economic Forum, and Yusufov confirmed Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had also recently met with the Yukos leader.
Some critics have suggested that the already 3-month-old criminal probe into Yukos would scare away a foreign investor, but others have said it might also be driving Yukos to secure a deal in the hope that a powerful foreign partner would shield it from attacks at home.
Offices raided
Investigators have stepped up the probe into Yukos in the past few days with a series of raids on the offices and homes of colleagues and friends of Yukos head Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his close associate Platon Lebedev.
The probe focuses on the theft of state property and tax evasion dating back to the often murky privatization deals of the early 1990s. Lebedev, one of Yukos' top shareholders, has been jailed since July 2 in connection with a 1994 privatization deal.
Yusufov said Friday that the investigations weren't related to the company's business operations.
His praise for Exxon Mobil suggests the government may be nudging Yukos to embrace the American giant. Exxon Mobil is leading an international group of companies that is planning a $12 billion oil and natural-gas project off the coast of Russia's Sakhalin Island.
"To receive that kind of partner, in my view would be everyone's wish," Yusufov said.