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Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg has proposed that TNK-BP
Management shareholders hold an emergency meeting to dismiss CEO
Robert Dudley and elect a new, independent executive.
Vekselberg, a member of the TNK-BP Management board of directors, said
the formal reasons for an emergency meeting were statements filed by
Mikhail Fridman, chairman of the TNK-BP Ltd. board of directors, and
Stan Polovets, executive secretary of the TNK-BP Ltd. board of
directors, as well as complaints from minority shareholders, trade
unions and a number of government agencies, citing numerous violations
of labor, migration and tax laws, as well as corporate agreements and
rules of procedure.
The ongoing row between four Russian
billionaire shareholders in TNK-BP and the British oil major, each
owning 50% in Russia's third largest oil producer, has been over
strategy, with the Russian investors also demanding cuts in the number
of foreign staff on secondment from BP.
The Russian
shareholders have accused BP of limiting TNK-BP's expansion abroad and
demanded Dudley's resignation. The British giant has rejected all the
accusations and demands.
Some analysts have suggested the
TNK-BP dispute is over ownership. The ban on selling stakes in the firm
expired in 2008. State energy companies Gazprom and Rosneft have been
reported to be seeking a stake in TNK-BP.
The Russian
co-owners of the Russian-British oil venture said last week that the
election of a new board of directors was illegal and they may challenge
it in court (See PetrolWorld 240608 ).
The board was elected at annual shareholder meeting.
The Alfa-Access-Renova (AAR) consortium representing the Russian
shareholders said the four Russian board members had already stepped
down and therefore their inclusion among the nine board members was
illegal.
The Russian co-owners of TNK-BP have demanded the
replacement of TNK-BP CEO Robert Dudley, who they accuse of putting
BP's interests ahead of those of TNK-BP.
AAR, which includes
businessmen Vekselberg, Fridman, German Khan and Len Blavatnik, said it
would sue BP, which holds the other 50% of TNK-BP, for attempts to
seize control of the joint venture. The consortium said it planned
legal action in the international arbitration court in Stockholm, as
well as in Russia.
A Russian labor regulator fined Dudley and
the oil company 3,000 rubles ($125) and 40,000 rubles ($1,650),
respectively, on Monday for labor code violations.
Set up in 2003, TNK-BP is Russia's third largest producer. It accounts for a quarter of BP's overall output.
TNK-BP Holding is a Russian registered and domiciled open joint stock
company incorporated in November 2004. TNK-BP Holding holds the
majority of TNK-BP's assets and operations in Russia. It does not
include TNK-BP's interests in Ukraine, or the joint venture interests
of the TNK-BP group in Russia, other than the Verkhnechonskoye joint
venture.
Minority shareholders own approximately 5% of TNK-BP Holding and their shares are quoted on the RTS.
PetrolWorld 020708 Source: Novosti News Agency
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