Russian oil and natural gas giant OAO Rosneft is paying $2.9 billion for the 49 percent of Itera Oil and Gas Company LLC it doesn't already own, Itera said Tuesday in a statement.
The move is expected to advance Rosneft's goal of becoming Russia's largest independent natural gas producer, Itera said. Upon completion of the acquisition, Rosneft will be "able to accelerate development of the Kynsko-Chaselsk group of fields.
Rosneft is aiming to reach an annual production goal of 100 billion cubic feet by 2020, up from last year's 13 billion cubic meters, Reuters said. The acquisition of Itera follows Rosneft's $55 billion acquisition of TNK-BP.
