A relative of Russian President Vladimir Putin has been nominated for a senior position in the state-owned gas giant Gazprom.

In a brief financial disclosure on Thursday, Gazprom, the world's largest natural gas producer, said its board would consider the issue "of M.E. Putin", without giving further details.

The formulation is usually used by Gazprom in reference to a discussion about nominating a new management board member, or removing an existing board member. There is currently no one called Putin on the board.

Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, confirmed that it did concern a relative of Putin.

"As far as I know, he is a distant relative of the president. I don't know if they have any interaction," Peskov told a daily conference call with journalists.