
Igor Sechin, head of Rosneft and a close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been told by the government that it will consider his request over the coming fortnight. The state-controlled energy giant, which is almost 20 per cent owned by BP, is barred from receiving any credit with a maturity of more than 90 days from US or European banks. However Rosneft suggested that the Kremlin could use money from the National Wealth Fund, a fund earmarked to fund Russian state pensions. The money would be used to purchase Rosneft bonds.