Rosneft CEO says takeover of India's Essar is closed

The takeover of India's Essar Oil by Russia's largest oil producer Rosneft can be now considered as closed, Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin told a shareholders' meeting on Thursday.

The deal, where Rosneft will hold a 49 percent stake, will allow the Russian company to increase oil refining output by 20 percent this year, he said.

Sechin also said that the synergy effect from the privatisation of oil company Bashneft had totaled more than 40 billion roubles ($669.9 million) in the first two quarters of this year.

Rosneft's gas production is set to be rising by more than 10 percent a year, Sechin said, while overall investments are seen at more than 1 trillion roubles annually in the coming years.