The struggle to privatize Russia's oil firms may not be over yet. According to Russian daily Vedomosti, a fledgling consortium of energy firms called Alliance tried to outbid Rosneft for a 50 percent stake in Bashneft, Russia's sixth-largest oil firm. Alliance raised some 334 billion rubles ($5.23 billion) — a little over 4 billion rubles more than Rosneft initially offered — for the bid, which it reportedly sent to Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev's office. The prime minister then forwarded the offer to the Economic Ministry on Oct. 12, the same day Rosneft closed its deal to purchase Bashneft. Though Alliance was unsuccessful in blocking the sale, its last-minute intervention has raised questions about the consortium and about the future of Bashneft's remaining shares.

So far, the consortium is something of a mystery. Vedomosti reached out to various energy firms, but none were familiar with the Alliance group. Alliance chief Dmitri Nikitin, of whom little is known beyond his dabbling in energy businesses throughout the former Soviet Union, said the consortium was set up in July with the sole purpose of buying Bashneft. Nikitin also said he was working with the Republic of Bashkortostan, the primary holder of Bashneft's minority shares. This could help to explain the consortium's interest in the company.

Having purchased half of Bashneft, Rosneft is eyeing the rest of the energy firm's shares. During the week of Oct. 31, Rosneft sent letters to Bashneft's minority shareholders, while applying to Russia's Anti-Monopoly Service. Now, the company has 35 days to strike a deal, according to the Kremlin. But Bashkortostan is wary of a Rosneft buyout, which would put the republic and its assets at the oil giant's mercies in political as well as business terms; Rosneft has deep ties with Russia's security services. Alliance may be working to help Bashkortostan thwart Rosneft's efforts to extend its control into a new region.

Bashkortostan is not alone in trying to curb Rosneft's clout, though. The Kremlin approved the initial Bashneft purchase in return for the oil giant agreeing to privatize just under 20 percent of its own shares — a sale Moscow desperately needs to overcome its budget deficit. However, Rosneft chief Igor Sechin surprised the Kremlin, announcing his company's intention to buy up the $11.7 billion worth of its own shares. Russian President Vladimir Putin conceded to the plan in the interest of filling the budget deficit, but he noted that it would only be a temporary fix. Since then, Putin has reportedly lobbied foreign and rival firms — China's Sinopec, Kazakhstan's KazMunaiGaz, and Russia's Surgutneftegas and LukOil — to purchase Rosneft's shares. The revelation of Alliance group's activities has led to speculation over whether the mysterious new consortium is tied to Putin's attempts to undermine Rosneft, Bashkortostan's political concerns or something else entirely.