INTERNATIONAL NEWS

MOSCOW -- The Board of Directors of Yukos Oil Co. will call an emergency shareholders meeting to consider whether the company should file for bankruptcy or be liquidated, Yukos CEO Stephen Theede told reporters on Wednesday. He said the meeting would be held on Dec. 20, 2004, according to the Daily Russian Journal.

The situation around Yukos, which was presented with new tax claims for $6.7 billion earlier this week, was "not sustainable," Theede said. He stressed that this situation could not last long. The Yukos CEO did not rule out the possibility that the company could declare bankruptcy before December 2004.

Theede said Yukos was very close to insolvency, and that the company had suspended all capital investment operations. According to him, Yukos currently makes no payments except on the maintenance of production equipment, electricity, telephone bills and wages. As for tax payments, the company mainly pays export taxes.

Theede said another meeting would be held in January 2005 to elect a new Board of Directors.

Many analysts say bankruptcy would be the best choice for Yukos if it helped avoid the sale of Yuganskneftegaz, Yukos's main production subsidiary, at a low price. At the same time, they say bankruptcy will not solve all of Yukos's problems.

On Oct. 28, Yukos CFO Bruce Misamore said Yukos could no longer cope with the situation when all of its revenues were taken away as payment for the company's tax debts.
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