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Oil price hike powers Rosneft $11bn stake sale to Glencore and Qatar

Russia has sold a 19.5% stake in its largest oil firm for $11.3bn (£8.5bn) as it looks to rake in cash to aid its sanctions-hit economy.

It had appeared the Kremlin (IOB: 0Q8D.IL - news) was struggling to agree a deal but it credited the prospect of rising oil prices for the agreements with Qatar's sovereign wealth fund and FTSE 100 miner Glencore (Frankfurt: 8GC.F - news) .

Each will take an equal share of the holding, which comes close to matching the 19.75% stake owned by BP.

The deal will come as a relief for the Russian state as it seeks to plug the country's growing deficit, partly due to the economy's reliance on energy earnings.

While the collapse in world oil prices since 2014 has taken its toll, Moscow has also been hamstrung by the effects of Western sanctions over the crisis in Ukraine and a diplomatic stand-off over its military action in Syria .

The Kremlin has welcomed the looming presidency of Donald Trump - hoping a thaw in US/Russia relations will follow once the billionaire takes office at the White House in January.

Rosneft chief executive Igor Sechin told Russian president Vladimir Putin the company had held talks with "more than 30 companies, funds, professional investors, sovereign funds, financial institutions from countries in Europe, the Americas, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region" ahead of the deal.

:: Will Opec production cut make a difference?

A move by the Opec cartel of oil-producing nations to raise prices through production cuts is being joined by Russia.

The announcement, last month, helped Brent crude rise back above $50 a barrel. It is currently trading above $53 a barrel.

Glencore, which is based in Switzerland but London-listed, said in a statement that the deal "will be conditional on the subsequent finalisation of all relevant financing, guarantee and other agreements," and could be closed in mid-December.