BP settles TNK dispute with Russians
TEXT OF STORY
Renita Jablonski: Word from Russia this morning that British oil giant BP has ended a long-running dispute over control of the country’s third largest oil company, TNK. BP co-owns TNK with a group of Russian oligarchs. The oligarchs wanted more power in the partnership. And as Brett Neely reports, they seem to have won.
Brett Neely: BP could have lost its lucrative 50 percent stake in TNK, which supplies 25 percent of the oil and gas BP pumps. Although BP had the right to appoint TNK’s CEO, Robert Dudley, the Russian billionaires wanted him out. In July Dudley had to flee Russia because of what he called official harassment from the government. In the deal signed today, BP has agreed to remove Dudley.
He’ll be replaced by “a Russian speaking candidate with extensive Russian business experience.” BP and its partners also agreed to add three independent directors to TNK’s board and sell shares in an IPO. News of the deal sent BP shares up more than 3.5 percent in morning trading.
In Berlin, I’m Brett Neely for Marketplace.
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