Russia's decision to appoint a foreign bank to prepare the main production unit of Yukos for sale could pave the way for a foreign company to make a bid.
Bankers and analysts said that by hiring Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein to value Yuganskneftegaz, Yukos's prize asset, the authorities have opened up a new range of possible outcomes to the crisis engulfing the company.
"If you get a $10-20 billion valuation you could, for example, get two domestic Russian companies and a foreign company bidding. Each could take a different part of Yuganskneftegaz," said Mr Paul Collison, an oil and gas analyst with Brunswick UBS.
Until yesterday's news analysts had been bracing for Yugansk to go under the hammer for a knockdown price to pay a $3.4 billion tax bill. Yukos's battered stock has gained 30 per cent in two sessions on the rare positive news.
The auction was seen as a key step in dismembering Yukos, whose former CEO Mr Mikhail Khodorkovsky fell foul of the Kremlin and is on trial for tax evasion, and putting its prize asset in the hands of a Russian state entity such as oil firm Rosneft.
But the Kremlin could soon be faced with a dilemma if Dresdner comes up with a valuation for the jewel in Yukos's crown which proves to be more than any Russian company can afford.
Yukos has said Yugansk is worth over $30 billion, based on its reserves. Analysts believe the business could fetch anything from $12 billion to $20 billion if sold at auction to the highest bidder.