Russia will sell control of OAO Yuganskneftegaz, Yukos Oil's main unit, for as little as €6.64bn ($8.6bn) in a government-run auction which threatens to bankrupt the country's biggest oil exporter.

The Federal Property Fund said it will sell a 76.8 percent stake in Yuganskneftegaz, which pumps 60 percent of Yukos's oil, at an auction on Sunday December 19 at minimum starting price of 246.76bn rubles (€6.64bn).