Rosneft says to sign long-term deals with oil traders

MOSCOW: Russia's top crude producer Rosneft said on Monday it has agreed terms for long-term crude supply contracts with international traders Glencore and Vitol as it seeks funds to finance its $55 billion takeover of TNK-BP.

Under the heads of terms, Rosneft plans to sign contracts with prepayment for a duration of 5 years to supply up to 67 million tonnes of crude in total.

Supplies are expected to commence in 2013.

Sources close to Rosneft and potential lenders told Reuters that Rosneft and its traditional oil buyers were in talks on long-term deals to raise up to $10 billion, using future oil exports as collateral, to facilitate the TNK-BP acquisition.

Center>Copyright Reuters, 2012