Yukos warns of oil output crisis

Catherine Belton in Moscow
Tuesday December 21, 2004
The Guardian

Russia’s biggest oil exporter, Yukos, appeared to be heading for collapse yesterday amid new fears over supplies as the true identity of the buyer of its main production unit in a £4.8bn government auction remained unknown.

Yukos chief executive Steven Theede told reporters in London that production was already in decline and could fall further if the new owner of its main gas production unit Yuganskneftegaz did not make major investments soon. “You cannot run a company the size of Yukos on no money, so we are already starting to see an impact,” he said. “Any new owner is going to have to begin making significant investments in Yuganskneftegaz immediately.”
Guardian