Gazprom Neft attempted a merger with Yukos that would have created Russia's largest oil company, YukosSibneft. The first attempt in 1998 failed over a management dispute, while second time round Sibneft's shareholders called off the deal in November 2003 after the federal government cracked down on Yukos despite the process already being well under way. In September 2005, Gazprom bought 75.7% of Sibneft's shares from Millhouse Capital (Roman Abramovich’s investment vehicle) for US$13.1 billion in Russia's largest corporate takeover. In May 2006, Sibneft was renamed Gazprom Neft. In 2006 Alexander Dyukov was elected as CEO of the company and in 2008 he
Gazprom that if supplies were cut, it would deny Gazprom access to its pipelines, which would impair gas transportation to Europe. However, on 1 January 2007, just a few hours before the deadline, Belarus and Gazprom signed a last-minute agreement. Under the agreement, Belarus undertook to pay $100 per 1,000 cubic metre in 2007. The agreement also allowed Gazprom to purchase 50 percent of the shares in Beltransgaz, the Belarusian pipeline network. Immediately following the signing of this agreement, Belarus declared a $42/ton transportation tax on Russian oil travelling through the Gazprom pipelines crossing its territory. On 13 March 2008, after