MOSCOW, Oct 14 (AFP) - The Russian government will sell a controlling stake in Yuganskneftegaz, the key holding of the troubled Yukos oil giant, for just over four billion dollars, Interfax reported Thursday without disclosing its sources.
It said that 76.8 percent of Yuganskneftegaz shares will be put up for auction by the end of next month.
Interfax further quoted an unnamed Russian government official as saying that an affiliate of the natural gas monopoly Gazprom was likely to take part in the auction.
Gazprom management has previously officially denied interest in Yuganskneftegaz.
The report came as a top Western bank asked to value Yukos's core asset said the Russian government chose the lowest price possible for a planned sale of the oil giant's crown jewel in a move that has shaken investors.
The justice ministry put an initial value of just 10.4 billion dollars on all of Yuganskneftegaz -- a Siberian facility that pumps 62 percent of Yukos's oil and had been valued by the company itself at up to 30 billion dollars.
The justice ministry's valuation was the lowest figure mentioned in the independent valuation report the government commissioned from Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DrKW), which instead suggested a valuation closer to 17 billion dollars.
Yuganskneftegaz is being sold off to cover Yukos's back taxes in a politically charged case.