Russia: TNK BP Lowers Investment Plans for 2009
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Monday, 15 December 2008 |
TNK-BP said it would cut investments by 27 percent in 2009 in response to lower oil prices.
Acting Chief Executive Tim Summers said the company will also cut
costs by 10 percent but still aimed to keep production of oil and gas
"broadly flat" compared with 2008.
The company's board meeting at the Hotel Crillon also failed
to name a new CEO. "2009 will be a tricky environment for us," Summers
told Reuters in an interview. "We will cut our costs on a rouble basis
by 10 percent overall in the company in 2009 from 2008." Board member
and major shareholder Viktor Vekselberg said last month that the
meeting would decide a new CEO. Summers said the matter was not on the
agenda but added: "I am sure the shareholders had offline
conversations".
David Peattie, the head of BP's Russian business and a director of
TNK-BP Ltd, said in an emailed statement: "We are also looking forward
to finalising the new shareholder agreement, and appointing a new CEO
and independent directors in the coming weeks."
TNK-BP's former CEO Bob Dudley resigned following a stand-off between
BP and its oligarch partners in TNK-BP over control of the company. The
dispute ended when BP agreed to give its shareholders more say in how
the company is run.
Summers added that TNK-BP was in talks with Sibir Energy regarding the
possible acquisition of Sibir's stake in BP-branded fuel stations
around Moscow.
PetrolWorld 121208
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