MOSCOW, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Russia's top crude producerRosneft has been ordered to sell some of its petrolstations after it acquires oil company TNK-BP so itsmarket share will not exceed the allowed level, local newswiresreported on Thursday.
RIA Novosti and Interfax cited Igor Artemyev, head ofRussia's anti-trust service FAS, as saying the condition is apart of the approval of the deal.
He said Rosneft should cut its share of the diesel andgasoline retail market in certain Russian regions to below 50percent, according to the reports.
Rosneft is due to buy TNK-BP from the AAR consortium ofRussian-born business tycoons and BP in a cash-and-stockdeal worth more than $55 billion.
Rosneft is the second-largest owner of petrol stations inRussia after LUKOIL. It controls some 1,800 petrolstations across 41 regions in the country.