Rosneft - backing Sechin - FT.com Igor Sechin is the go-to guy for all questions about the Russian energy sector. The chief executive of Rosneft seems to hold the keys to both the Arctic Ocean and the Kremlin for western oil companies. Joint venture agreements are coming thick and fast - with ExxonMobil, Eni and Statoil in recent months. Mr Sechin now has his eye on TNK-BP; Rosneft could buy half of it from either BP or AAR, a consortium of Russian oligarchs. That should bring synergies in extraction and transport costs, provided that Rosneft does not overpay in its eagerness to please. Think of Rosneft as Gazprom's more friendly kid brother. Mr Sechin was in London last week showering investor presentations on all comers. There is a good story to tell. Rosneft is the world's biggest oil producing company, churning out 2.4m barrels a day in the second quarter of 2012 (Exxon produced 2.2m). Its financials look robust - net income was $11bn in 2011 (Exxon made $30bn because its oil is more valuable). Net debt was just 0.7 times earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation. It also has the freedom to pursue its own strategy. The question is whether Rosneft can offer investors a Russian energy story to counter Gazprom's bureaucratic blankness, TNK-BP's movie-thriller plot lines, and Kremlin meddling. It has accumulated a good growth story in the past few years. But it has a way to go to deliver. Its Arctic initiatives involve huge capital costs and execution risks. It is spending $25bn on modernising its refining operations. And its free float is just 15 per cent (on a market capitalisation of $70bn, admittedly). Rosneft shares trade at a premium of up to 30 per cent to rivals such as Lukoil because of its favour with the Kremlin. But its five-year total return trails TNK-BP or Bashneft. Only if Mr Sechin can run Rosneft as much for private shareholders as for the Russian state will that change.