Qatar’s Rosneft deal could pave the way for closer co-operation with Russia

Qatar Investment Authority (QIA)’s purchase of equity in Russian oil giant Rosneft, which was finalised on 3 January, comes as Gulf states have been moving towards closer energy collaboration with Russia. Rosneft on 7 December announced that QIA and commodities trader Glencore were together buying a 19.5% stake in the company for €10.2bn ($10.7bn).QIA is providing €2.5bn in equity funding, with Glencore supplying €300m and the rest coming from Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo bank. The deal, described by Rosneft as the largest privatisation in Russian history, also involved the sale of a controlling government stake in oil firm Bashneft and a five-year offtake agreement between Rosneft and Glencore for 220,000 b/d of crude.