MOSCOW, September 20 - RAPSI. The Moscow Commercial Court ordered RUSIA Petroleum to pay Rizben Enterprises Ltd. about 2.1 billion rubles ($67.1 million) in debt accrued under loan contracts, the court told the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI/rapsinews.com) Thursday.
Rizben Enterprises Ltd., a TNK-BP subsidiary, sought to recover 2.431 billion rubles ($77.7 million).

During the hearing, the plaintiff said RUSIA Petroleum was a borrower under four loan contracts. Following the reassignment of the rights to claim, the rights to require debt payment under the loans were transferred to the plaintiff. A bankruptcy case was initiated against the defendant, and the defendant's debt to Rizben Enterprises Ltd., which exceeded 11 million rubles ($351,640), was included in RUSIA Petroleum's register of creditors.

The Irkutsk Region Commercial Court ceased RUSAL Petroleum's bankruptcy case in October 2011, as the company paid its debt to its creditors. Rizben Enterprises Ltd. and the Federal Tax Service were RUSIA Petroleum's primary creditors, and represented the Social Insurance Fund's claims.
Gazprom purchased RUSIA's property during an auction in March 2011 for 25.8 billion rubles ($813.7 million) and obtained the rights to develop the field.

The Federal Subsoil Use Agency reissued the license to Gazprom on September 30.

Earlier, the bankruptcy administrator said the company transferred on October 17 11.8 billion rubles ($372 million) to Rizben Enterprises Ltd. and 21 million rubles ($662,320) to the fund.

The payment took place in eight tranches. The bankruptcy administrator filed a petition to terminate the bankruptcy proceedings at the company after it repaid its debt in full.

RUSIA Petroleum was established in April 1992 to develop hydrocarbon deposits in the Irkutsk region. The company operates the Kovykta gas field, whose reserves are assessed at over 2 trillion cubic meters of gas.