The board of OAO Rosneft on Sunday appointed First Vice-President Eduard Khudainatov, a former Gazprom executive, as the head of Russia's state-controlled oil major as its profits grew 37%. The board took less than a day to approve Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's order to nominate Khudainatov to the post. He starts in his new position Monday replacing Sergei Bogdanchikov who only last week told reporters, "I will certainly not resign, I am a Rosneft shareholder, I am Rosneft president, a member of the board of directors, I feel devotion towards it."

Sergei Bogdanchikov, the president of Rosneft, Russia's state-controlled oil giant, has denied a media report that he will soon resign."I will certainly not resign, I am a Rosneft shareholder, I am Rosneft president, a member of the board of directors, I feel devotion towards it," he said on Wednesday.

Earlier on Wednesday, Vedomosti business daily quoted a banking source saying that Bogdanchikov may quit in the near future. Rumors about his resignation have appeared previously.