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The Russian co-owners of oil company TNK-BP will not sell out for at
least two years and will put more pressure on their partner BP to
achieve their objective of increasing performance according to an
interview carried out by Reuters with one of the partners, Mikhail
Fridman.
Mikhail Fridman, chairman of Alfa Group, said he believed one of the
main reasons for the corporate war at TNK-BP between BP and the Russian
co-owners was an attempt by BP to squeeze him and his Russian partners
out with the help of state gas monopoly Gazprom. State energy groups Gazprom and Rosneft have been long rumored to be seeking a stake in TNK-BP.
BP and the Russian co-owners have clashed over TNK-BP's structure
and strategy since May but many analysts believe the real dispute is
over future ownership of the company after a ban on the shareholders
selling their stakes expired in early 2008.
The Russian co-owners have accused BP of limiting TNK-BP's
international expansion and employing too many foreign secondees from
BP. They have demanded that TNK-BP Chief Executive Robert Dudley
resign, accusing him of favoring the interests of BP.
Fridman said the Russian shareholders were not happy with TNK-BP's
operating performance, citing its low market value compared with Lukoil.
BP has rejected the accusations and rejected the demand for Dudley
to resign. The Russian co-owners filed a suit in Russia to overturn
Dudley's board nominees for TNK-BP's June 26 annual meeting.
Fridman said the Russian side would press its demands in court with a lawsuit in a Stockholm arbitration court to follow.
"What I've learnt from my relations with BP is that without pressure
they will not react", he said. BP holds 50 percent of TNK-BP, Russia's
No.3 oil company, which provides BP with a quarter of its output
worldwide.
Asked if BP should expect more pressure, Fridman replied: "Yes".
Alfa holds 25 percent in TNK-BP. Two other Russian billionaires, Viktor Vekselberg and Len Blavatnik, own 12.5 percent each.
Fridman, valued Russia's seventh richest man with a personal fortune
of $20.5 billion, said he and his partners had been angered by what he
said was an attempt by BP to agree with Gazprom on a buyout of the
Russian co-owners.
"All these rumors (about the buy-out of the Russian co-owners)
appeared mostly because of permanent discussions with the head of
Gazprom, which by the way contradict our shareholding agreement," said
Fridman.
"I got the whole information about these talks the next day after
they had these discussions. This is Russia, it's impossible to make a
secret out of it," said Fridman.
BP and Gazprom have said they are holding talks about their Kovykta
gas venture and not about TNK-BP's future, but sources at both
companies have said TNK-BP has been also discussed.
"Of course for them (BP) Gazprom is much more sexy than AAR (or
Alfa-Access-Renova, the investment vehicle of the Russian co-owners).
Gazprom has an enormous amount of reserves," said Fridman.
"Probably you are not the best partner if you are trying to incentivise people to buy you out."
Fridman, who has a reputation for embarking on corporate disputes
with foreign companies, said the state was on his side. He argued with
BP almost a decade ago and is currently locked in a row with Norwegian
telecoms group Telenor.
"BP's mistake was that it anticipated it would really know what was
going on in Russian political circles. Even we who live in this country
all our life do not understand it very clearly," he said.
"They misjudged if they thought that Gazprom would easily push us
out of business. I said many times to Mr Hayward (BP's chief executive)
we are not selling and nobody will push us. It is not an intention of
Putin or Medvedev, despite all these rumors".
Fridman said he still hoped to reach a compromise with BP and said
the row would not impact TNK-BP's operating performance. TNK-BP
managers have said the row will hit long-term performance if it goes on.
Fridman said his Russian partners were committed to sticking with
their TNK-BP investment and he believed BP was unlikely to sell, so
TNK-BP would preserve its current ownership structure.
"I'm sure we will reach an agreement. It is impossible to work like
that for a long period of time. At the end of the day I'm sure 100
percent we will reach our goal. On fair terms".
PetrolWorld 240608 Source: Reuters - Dmitry Zhdannikov
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