Investors also think Russia's last remaining major independent oil company, Lukoil, faces risks too. It trades at a price/earnings ratio of eight times, compared to more than 20 times for Rosneft. The reason for Lukoil's valuation, says Mr Weafer, is because "investors see that company as stuck in no-man's land". One way Lukoil appears to be shoring up a future with the state was its announcement earlier this year that it would form a joint venture with Gazprom Neft, Gazprom's oil arm that was formerly Roman Abramovich's Sibneft.