MOSCOW, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Russia's Deputy Energy MinisterPavel Fyodorov, who served as state oil company Rosneft's top financial official before joining the government,has resigned, the ministry said on Wednesday.
Fyodorov is close to Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin and sourcesclose to both men have said he was likely to rejoin the oilcompany after a stint in government, where he was responsiblefor tax reform and foreign investment.
A major Fyodorov initiative, tax breaks designed to coax oilcompanies to investment in shale and other "tight" oil projects,where oil is difficult to extract, has yet to be formalised.
Fyodorov has assured investors that these tax breaks wouldpass by the end of the first quarter.
Those tax breaks, along with a package of tax holidays oninvestments in Arctic offshore provinces, must pass in order forRosneft to proceed with exploration ventures with ExxonMobil and other international oil companies.
Sechin took over at Rosneft last year after leaving thegovernment, where he was deputy prime minister to VladimirPutin. He is building his management team and has hired a numberof Fyodorov's former colleagues from Morgan Stanley to run thecompany's banking arm.
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