Russia's Gazprom seeks $700 mln in bank loans

MOSCOW, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Gazprom (GAZP.MM), Russia's top corporate borrower, launched a series of mid-sized tenders for bank loans on Thursday in a sign the Eurobond and syndicated loan markets are virtually shut for Russian companies.

The tenders for around $700 million will be divided into seven lots, ranging from 1.5 billion roubles ($59 million) to 100 million euros ($145.1 million) and are open from Thursday Sept. 18 to Oct. 27, Gazprom (GAZPq.L) said.

Tender results will be announced on Nov. 14.

A spokeswoman for Gazprom said the company regularly seeks financing but did not comment further.

Gazprom, the world's largest natural gas producer and a supplier of a quarter of Europe's gas needs, has a total debt of $40 billion and usually raises no less than $1 billion via a single Eurobond issue or a syndicated loan placement. (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Writing by Amie Ferris-Rotman; Editing by David Holmes)