MOSCOW — Russian authorities are looking for the funds to pay for the acquisition of Gazprom shares by state-owned oil company Rosneft.

Russian economy minister German Gref suggests selling part of Rosneft shares. He offers taking a one-year $7.5 billion loan using a non-controlling stake in Rosneft as collateral. To pay the debt, Gref suggests selling part of the company directly to a strategic investor.

For his part, Viktor Khristenko, the Russian minister for industry and energy, thinks Rosneft could stage an IPO and raise the necessary funds. “Rosneft has something to show and something to be used as a guarantee – for example, its oil export revenues,” Khristenko said.

Apparently, the ministers don’t know how to pay the $7.5 billion loan, and they see Rosneft’s future differently. The government had promised to pay Gazprom before the end of the year for a 10.7 percent stake in it.

An agreement with creditors has not yet been signed, and the government is looking for the best variant, the newspaper says. “I think it will be found by the end of this month,” said Dmitry Nikotenko, spokesman for Russia’s state property agency. A source in the energy ministry confirmed this information. “Indeed, there are several variants, and we are in consultations with Rosneft because we cannot impose our scenario on a business, even if state-run,” he noted.

Rosneft officials did not elaborate. “We will be happy with any scenario. Let the owners sort out their problems first,” an insider told the Finansovye Izvestia.