BP-Rosneft: new deal planned with Russian oil giant

As part of the Russian government’s bid to raise £617bn of investment in energy companies by 2020, BP is preparing to buy a 12.5pc stake in Rosneft.

As part of the Russian government’s bid to raise £617bn of investment in energy companies by 2020, BP is preparing to buy a 12.5pc stake in Rosneft.

British oil major BP is close to signing a deal that would make it the largest shareholder in Russia’s oil powerhouse Rosneft and secure the beleaguered company’s future into the bargain.

BP’s President Robert Dudley was in Moscow last week to meet president Vladimir Putin and Rosneft’s head Igor Sechin, a Kremlin insider and widely seen to have hands-on control of Russia’s oil sector. Rosneft is the biggest company in the sector (first by reserves and by production) and accounts for about one third of Russia’s oil exports.

“The sides discussed issues related to the continuation and expansion of BP’s presence on the Russian market, and also the prospects of cooperation with Russian companies,” was all the Kremlin press office would say after the meeting.

The deal, if it goes ahead, is BP’s second attempt at tying up with Rosneft; it would also allow the company to exit from its troubled joint venture, TNK-BP.



Source: Telegraph.