BP denies claims over TNK sale

BP said it had no plans to sell down its half-share in Russia’s third-largest oil producer TNK-BP, denying comments from sources close to its partners that it threatened such a move.

BP said its focus in Russia was on developing TNK-BP, and denied it was preparing to reduce its interest.

“BP has taken no decision to sell any of its shareholding in TNK-BP, and there is no current intention to do so,” a spokesman said.Sources close to AAR, a group of Soviet-born billionaires that owns 50 per cent of TNK-BP, said BP executives had indicated that it was ready to sell down its stake.

AAR interpreted the comments as a possible negotiating tactic to advance BP’s hopes for a tie-up with Kremlin-controlled Rosneft, the sources said.

BP signed a £9.7bn share swap and Arctic exploration deal with Rosneft in January, but AAR blocked the deal in court on the basis the TNK-BP shareholder agreement obliged BP to use TNK-BP as its primary vehicle for investment in Russia.

Sources close to BP and AAR said that as part of the talks to allow the Rosneft tie-up to proceed, BP last month told AAR it could sell part of its stake in TNK-BP to Rosneft if AAR did not lift its opposition to the tie-up.