Russia's Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of gas monopoly Gazprom, plans to acquire new assets and so cannot yet predict its this year's dividends, the firm's head said.

Gazprom Neft president Alexander Dyukov said on Friday that the company would invest over $100 million in a buy-back project in Iran and had also offered to develop more fields in Siberia with US oil major Chevron.

"We plan to buy a number of assets this year. That is why it is too early to talk about dividends as a share of profits," Dyukov said at the firm's annual shareholders' meeting.

Gazprom Neft, fighting years of declining production, has said it is planning to buy new production and refining assets.

It has also said it plans to expand its activities outside Russia in addition to its only foreign project at the moment, part of the Northern Zadegan deposit in Iran.
State-controlled Gazprom clinched a deal in February to develop oil and gas projects in Iran.

Dyukov said his company would fully fund the project, where total investment could amount to over "a hundred million dollars".

It will shortly take a decision on the three fields within the deposit offered by Iran.

"We are to reply to Iran within six weeks on the geological data we received," he said, adding that Gazprom Neft hoped to book some 60 per cent of the reserves of the fields it would develop.