In his new capacity as senior vice president at public relations consultancy Mmd Russia, Erikssen will act as a key adviser to Rosneft, Steven Lock, head of Mmd Russia, said Monday.
"Mmd will be advising Rosneft on a range of financial issues, but clearly the future strategy will be focused on the IPO next year," Lock said.
Erikssen "was part of the deal," Lock said, when Mmd was appointed by Rosneft as its international public relations agency at the start of this month -- the same time Erikssen arrived at Mmd.
Kremlin-backed Rosneft -- which last year snapped up Yukos' key unit, Yuganskneftegaz, in a controversial auction -- is considered to be the opposite of privately held Yukos.
While the fortunes of Western-style Yukos waned since the arrest of founder and former CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky two years ago, Rosneft has become a prominent player in the country's energy sector.
In December of last year, Rosneft snapped up the 1 million-barrel-per-day Yugansk unit for $9.4 billion after the government seized and auctioned it to recoup a multibillion-dollar back tax bill.
The same month, Erikssen resigned from his post at Yukos, reportedly after disputes with the management of the beleaguered oil company.
Since leaving Yukos, Erikssen has worked as a free-lance consultant for several CIS clients, including Ukrainian tycoon Rynat Akhmetov's System Capital Management.
Erikssen has had no dealings with Yukos this year, Yukos spokeswoman Claire Davidson said from London Monday.
Erikssen's experience will be useful in making Rosneft more transparent, said Steven O'Sullivan, co-head of research at brokerage UFG. Transparency is one of the major issues ahead of the IPO.
"Originally, Yukos was not a transparent company," he said. "It opened up over the years."
Erikssen is not likely to deliver any company secrets to Rosneft, according to a former Yukos executive.
"He doesn't have any precious information on Yukos' internal affairs," the executive said Monday on condition of anonymity.
In addition to working on its public image, Mmd will advise Rosneft on international banks to work on the IPO. Brunswick has already been picked as Rosneft's partner in London, Brunswick confirmed Monday.
Rosneft confirmed that Mmd would act "as consultants for projects abroad."
When asked why Rosneft needed an outside public relations service, head of public relations at Rosneft, Nikolai Manvelov, said: "Why should I answer that?" and declined to comment further.
Staff Writer Valeria Korchagina contributed to this report.
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