Russia Surgut head nominated for Rosneft board -paper
MOSCOW, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Russia's government has nominated Vladimir Bogdanov, the head of private oil firm Surgut, for the board of state-controlled oil champion Rosneft, a newspaper reported on Friday.
The government has been long seeking to boost the number of independent directors at boards of state controlled companies.
Bogdanov's nomination to Rosneft will also revive old rumours Rosneft, Russia's biggest oil producer, is seeking to buy its smaller cash-rich rival.
Vedomosti business daily quoted two unnamed government officials as saying Bogdanov has been nominated to the board, which is due to be elected at the company's annual shareholders' meeting later this year.
Rosneft's spokesman declined to comment on the reports.
Surgut, headquartered in West Siberian town of the same name, was not available for comment.
Vedomosti quoted sources close to Bogdanov as saying that Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, who oversees Russia's oil and gas sector, has revived the idea of the merger and that a potential deal was now being discussed at the Kremlin.
Sources suggested that the merger with Surgut, which sits on a cash pile of around $18 billion, could be attractive for Rosneft, which has a debt of around $20 billion.