Rosneft Oil (fka RNFTF)

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Rosneft says hit by "powerful" cyber attack

Rosneft (OTC:RNFTF) says it has been hit by a powerful cyber attack, in a statement that says it hopes the attack is unrelated to its ongoing legal battle with rival business group Sistema.

Rosneft is fighting a court case against Sistema and has demanded $3B in a lawsuit that alleges it stripped assets from oil company Bashneft during 2009-14; Rosneft now owns Bashneft.

Rosneft says oil production and preparation processes have not been affected.

Separately, CEO Igor Sechin says Rosneft aims to become the world's third largest gas producer and as cost-effective as Saudi Aramco.

"We must find the tools which will allow us to increase the efficiency of the company at all stages of the production chain - from oil and gas exploration to retail sales of oil products," Sechin writes in Russia's Izvestia newspaper.