MOSCOW. Sept 28 (Interfax) - The purchase of the oil company Sibneft by the state-owned gas giant Gazprom will put control of nearly one-third of Russian oil production in the state's hands.

The most current data available suggest that the state controls 18.4% of the country's oil output through Gazprom and Rosneft, with Yuganskneftegaz. The government's approval of Gazprom's purchase of Sibneft may bring the state-owned share in Russia's oil production to 28%.

However, estimates by Interfax Petroleum News Agency experts indicate that private firms will continue to extract 63% of Russian oil.

The share of oil extracted by foreign companies in Russia will remain virtually unchanged until the end of the year. Firms with foreign capital and production-sharing project operators account for 9% of the oil extracted in Russia. Without the share of BP, which controls 50% of the TNK-BP joint venture, this figure stands at 2%-3%.