Gazprom for vouchers. Fifteen percent of the stock was allocated to Gazprom employees. The state retained 40% of the shares. That amount was gradually lowered to thirty-eight percent. Trading of Gazprom's shares was heavily regulated. Foreigners were prohibited from owning more than nine-percent of the shares. In October 1996, 1% of Gazprom's equity was offered for sale to foreigners as Global Depository Receipts. In 1997, Gazprom offered a bond issue of US$2.5 billion. Chernomyrdin, as Prime Minister of Russia, ensured Gazprom avoided tight state regulation. Gazprom evaded taxes, and the Government of Russia received little in dividends. Gazprom managers and board
Sibir Energy Sibir Energy Sibir Energy is a London-based Russian public limited company, whose primary line of business is petroleum and natural gas exploration in Siberia. Its shares were traded on the Alternative Investment Market, part of the London Stock Exchange. As of 2011, it is a wholly owned subsidiary of Gazprom Neft. Sibir was founded in 1996, and since then it had pursued an integrated model for its business operations by retaining a focus on retail as well as its core exploration, extraction and refinery activities. On 21 August 2009, Gazprom Neft made a bid to take over all shares in