* Rosneft wants buyers pay penalties if they fail to makepaymentdue to sanctions
* Previous sanctions clauses in contracts were much softer
* Move reflects growing concerns about widening U.S.sanctions
* Western buyers resist Rosneft move
By Olga Yagova
MOSCOW, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Rosneft wants its Western oilbuyers to accept new terms and pay penalties from 2019 if theyfail to pay for supplies in the event that new U.S. sanctions onthe Russian energy major disrupt its oil sales, according totrading sources and Rosneft's draft contracts.
The buyers - including some of the world's biggest oilcompanies and traders such as BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Total, Vitol and Gunvor - are fiercelyopposing the move, according to trading sources.
The stand-off is likely to force Rosneft to soften itsdemands, the sources said, adding that the development shows theextent to which the state-owned oil giant is concerned aboutwidening U.S. sanctions on Russia.
"It is all very uncertain with the sanctions and Rosneft isclearly worried and is trying to minimize possible risks," saida trading source with a European major. "We said no, we couldn'taccept this," he added.
Rosneft did not immediately respond to a Reuters requestcomment. BP and Gunvor declined Reuters requests for comment.Shell, Total, Vitol did not respond to Reuters inquiries.
Russia has been under U.S. and EU sanctions since 2014 whenit invaded Ukraine's Crimean peninsula. The sanctions have beenrepeatedly widened to include new companies and sectors, makingit tough for Russian oil firms to borrow money abroad, raise newcapital or develop Arctic and unconventional deposits.
President Vladimir Putin's administration has been hopingfor a thaw in relations with the United States since PresidentDonald Trump came to power but Washington has imposed newsanctions instead, including on some of Russia's richest people.
Russian businesses are preparing for a new wave of sanctionsexpected in the coming days and months. The firms are trying todiversify away from dollar payments and tapping Asia for more oftheir financing and technology needs.
Rosneft is run by a close ally of Putin, Igor Sechin.
He and his company have been under sectoral sanctions since2014. Rosneft has so far avoided being put on the SpecialDesignated Nationals (SDN) list, which would make it impossiblefor major Western companies to have dealings with it.
When Washington put Russia's aluminium giant Rusal on theSDN list earlier this year, the move brought its metals exportsto a near standstill and disrupted its access to raw materialsfrom suppliers around the world.
STAND OFF
A Rosneft tender document seen by Reuters showed the companyhad asked its oil buyers to accept a new clause in its 2019annual tender to sell oil products.
"No sanctions ... shall terminate or amend any obligationsof the parties stated by the contract," the document said.
It also said that if a buyer walks away from the contractbecause of sanctions, it must compensate Rosneft with a paymentthat could either be a fixed amount or a sum calculated on thebasis of the contract terms.
Currently Rosneft has relatively mild sanction clauses,which say that none of the parties has an obligation to abide bythe contract if sanctions are imposed and no penalty is levied.
Rosneft is the world's largest listed oil firm with oil andgas output at around 5 million barrels per day. It produces over4 percent of global oil - on par with Iran - and counts all theglobal oil majors among its buyers.
The buyers have insisted on sticking with the old clauses,according to five trading sources.
Rosneft has so far said that it could not guarantee toconsider buyers' bids at tenders as valid unless they accept thenew terms.
Rosneft will award its annual oil products supply tenders onDec. 5, according to the tender documents, giving the companiesmore time to negotiate.(Writing by Dmitry ZhdannikovEditing by Giles Elgood)
