In a verdict announced Thursday, the court says that the deal which includes a BP-Rosneft partnership in the Kara Sea, as well as a swap of company shares, is against the law.
It is a group of minority shareholders of the TNK-BP, a company 50 percent controlled by the British company, which reported the deal to the Stockholm Court. The AAR shareholders (Alfa-Access-Renova) argue that the BP-Rosneft deal violates the right of refusal on deals in Russia enshrined in TNK-BP’s shareholder agreement.
The deal between BP and Rosneft was concluded in January this year. It includes a partnership in a huge area in the Kara Sea, the Arctic waters north of the Yamal Peninsula. In addition, the two companies agreed to swop shares worth a total of 16 billion USD.
Read also: Rosneft and BP form strategic alliance for Kara Sea
Commenting on the ruling, BP said it would look for ways to carry out the deal with Rosneft despite the injunction. “BP will now apply for a determination whether the share swap may proceed on its own [and] looks forward to finding a way to resolve its differences with its Russian partners to allow these important Russian Arctic developments to proceed in future”, a press release from BP reads.
President of BP Russia, Jeremy Huck, strongly argues that the deal with Rosneft does not infringe of the TNK-BP shareholders agreement. “ We believe that we have the right to have several partners in a country – this is normal, and our cooperation with Rosneft does not infringe on the interests of TNK-BP”, he told newspaper Kommersant.
The AAR shareholders however see it all otherwise. “This court verdict means that BP in the future will be banned from concluding any strategic deals with Rosneft”, a press release from the shareholders says, Kommersant reports.
The BP-Rosneft deal was to be concluded on 14 April this year. State-owned Rosneft is now likely to itself take action in the case. Reportedly, company Board Chairman and First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin now considers to take both BP and the AAR group to court.
Meanwhile, Rosneft is negotiating with several other major foreign oil companies on a possible partnership in the Arctic. Among them is also the Shell company.
Read also: Rosneft seeks foreign cooperation
