MOSCOW - To further solidify its grip on Rospan International, oil major Yukos on Monday named new managers and a new board of directors at the lucrative Siberian gas producer.

Viktor Solovykh, a vice president at Yukos' exploration and production division, was appointed general director, replacing Rospan external manager Mikhail Rubtsov.

"The election of the new management, as well as the closing of Rospan's bankruptcy proceedings, will allow the work of the enterprise to get back to normal," Yury Beilin, Yukos president for exploration and production, said in a statement. "This is in the interests of all of its shareholders, creditors and workers."

Yukos owns a controlling stake in Rospan, and oil major Tyumen Oil Co., or TNK, is the company's largest creditor. On March 26, the Moscow Arbitration Court ruled to halt bankruptcy proceedings against Rospan. This was done against the wishes of TNK officials, who have long had their eyes on Rospan's $9 billion in gas reserves.

A group of armed guards tried to storm into the company's Novy Urengoi office in an attempt to install a new general director, Prime-Tass reported Friday. The group's affiliation remains unclear. TNK asked the Yamal-Ne netsk and Novy Urengoi regional administrations to intervene and put a stop to the conflict.

Yukos said in a press release that its offer to sell 44 percent of Rospan's shares to TNK is still good.

The government's 36.8 percent stake in the Siberian oil producer will be auctioned off May 24, and the starting price has been set at $225 million. Both Yukos and TNK have said they would participate.

Analysts say that Yukos will give TNK this stake if TNK agrees not to participate in the upcoming auction of Eastern Oil Co.