MOSCOW, January 18 - RAPSI, Alyona Yegorova. A commercial court consolidated two disputes between Rosneft and its minority shareholder Alexei Navalny over corporate documents into one proceeding.

The hearing on Navalny's lawsuits will be held on February 13.

In April 2011 Navalny asked Rosneft for the copies of seven contracts, concluded as part of a major oil supply deal with China. He later submitted a similar request to the company in October 2011. The requested documents include the contracts on $15 billion loan issued to Rosneft by China Development Bank as well as a contract on the crude supply to China National Petroleum Corporation for a term of 20 years, since 2011 until 2030.

The litigation has been continuing for over a year and was conducted on three levels. Rosneft stated in court that its board enjoys two types of competence - statutory and extended - and minority shareholders are not entitled to receive documents concerning extended competence.

Rosneft maintains that "if Navalny did not attend the 2008, 2009 and 2010 shareholders' meetings, then he needs the documents as a public activist, rather than a shareholder."

The transactions were approved by Rosneft's general shareholder's meeting on June 19, 2009. Navalny believes that the treaties were concluded on unfavorable terms which do not correspond to market environment.

Russia has been supplying oil to China from the Eastern Siberia - Pacific Oil pipeline since January 1, 2010. Pursuant to the Russian-Chinese intergovernmental agreement, the oil is to be supplied under contracts between Rosneft, Transneft and China National Petroleum Corporation for 20 years, at the amount of 15 million tons a year. According to the agreement, the buyer must pay the market price for the oil supplied via pipeline.