MOSCOW — State-owned oil company Rosneft is more likely to compete with gas giant Gazprom for the acquisition of oil company Sibneft than Surgutneftegas, investment analysts say.

Yevgeny Suverov, at Zenit Bank, thinks Rosneft could join in the struggle for Sibneft. If Rosneft decides to bid for Sibneft, it might borrow the necessary funds, the expert said, noting that the oil company could repay a significant part of those borrowings through an IPO.

For his part, Alexei Kormshchikkov at Uralsib financial company, doesn’t rule out the possibility of Rosneft’s part in the Sibneft acquisition but he thinks the state company has a small chance to win. “Rosneft has enough problems already: it has to consolidate its subsidiaries and prepare for an IPO,” he noted.

As for oil company Surgutneftegas, it had enough cash to buy Sibneft but it lacked “administrative resources” to defeat Gazprom, Kormshchikkov said. Mikhail Zak, an analyst with Veles Capital investment consultants, agrees. He said Surgutneftegas had more than $10 billion in cash, but the acquisition of Sibneft was a political matter.

“Gazprom’s strategy of expanding its oil and electricity operations through business diversification was approved at the top level, and Surgutneftegas is unlikely to stand in the way,” he judged. On Rosneft’s chances to buy Sibneft, Zak said the company might find cash to buy Sibneft, but it would not struggle for this asset. “I think Rosneft is more likely to focus on Yuganskneftegaz and other assets of oil company YUKOS that may come under Rosneft’s control,” he suggested.v Surgutneftegas did not comment on the possibility of its bidding for Sibneft.

According to unconfirmed reports, Sibneft’s key shareholders are in talks with Gazprom to sell their stakes in the oil company. Millhouse Capital controls 72 percent of Sibneft, and a 20 percent stake in Sibneft, which was acquired by oil company YUKOS in 2003 for $3 billion, remains frozen. That stake is eyed by state oil company Rosneft, which bought YUKOS’s key production arm, Yuganskneftegaz, last December.By some reports, Gazprom is in negotiations with foreign banks to borrow $10 billion.