A letter obtained by Reuters had disclosed plans of Rosneft to acquire an ownership stake in Novorossiisk Commercial Sea Port (NCSP) from the Russian government. Rosneft Chief Executive Igor Sechin requested President Vladimir Putin to sell the government's 20% stake to the oil company. Sechin is a known ally of Putin.

The state of Russia intended to sell its holding in NCSP by the year end. The sale would be part of the Russian government's privatization program.

State pipeline monopoly Transneft and Summa Group, a private investment group, own half of NCSP. NCSP is the operator of Novorossiisk and Primorsk ports on the Baltic Sea. More than half of Russia's crude exports came from Novorossiisk and Primorsk. Both Summa Group and Transneft had been at odds regarding the control of the biggest crude export operator in Russia.

When asked for comment regarding the contents of the letter, Rosneft declined to provide one.