The international rating agency said it had upgraded Rosneft‘s outlook after the crude producer acquired oil producing and refining assets in the Volga area, Eastern Siberia and other regions at auctions for the asset sale of now bankrupt oil company Yukos.

Standard & Poor’s said these acquisitions had considerably strengthened Rosneft’s business. Yukos, once Russia’s largest oil company, was declared bankrupt August 1, 2006, after three years of litigation with tax authorities over tax arrears. Its founder, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, is serving an eight-year prison sentence in Siberia for fraud and tax evasion. (en.rian.ru)