BP’s Arctic future hangs in the balance, BP俄罗斯
Release Date: 2011-05-20
Among the throng of holidaymakers arriving in Cyprus at the end of this week was one of Russia’s most powerful businessmen.
Mikhail Fridman, however, was not there for the sunshine but to attend the board meeting of TNK-BP, a joint venture between BP and a group of Russian billionaires led by Mr Fridman,
Others attending included Tony Hayward, the UK oil major’s former chief executive; Lord Robertson, the former head of Nato; and Gerhard Schroeder, the former German chancellor.
The board meeting, although scheduled months ago, was anything but routine. It came after a momentous week. It was the first time BP met with its Russian partners since the collapse of the company’s proposed $16bn share swap with Rosneft, the Russian state oil champion, on Monday night.
The swap, and an alliance to explore together in the Arctic, had been vigorously opposed by Alfa-Access-Renova (AAR), the vehicle through which Mr Fridman and his partners – Len Blavatnik and Viktor Vekselberg – hold their stake in TNK-BP.
Within days of the alliance being announced in January AAR claimed BP had broken the TNK-BP shareholder agreement. An international arbitration tribunal blocked the share swap following the protests.
Finally, after months of stalemate and with the original share swap agreement about to lapse at midnight on Monday, BP and Rosneft made a joint offer to buy out AAR from TNK-BP.
The three sides came tantalisingly close to a deal on Sunday that would have seen Mr Fridman and his partners receive about $32bn for their 50 per cent stake in TNK-BP. The offer was a mix of cash and shares in BP.
Talks continued throughout Monday but no agreement could be reached. With Rosneft pushing for the share swap to be completed before a buy-out of AAR was concluded, the talks finally broke down.
On Tuesday, despite months of acrimonious wrangling, BP and AAR presented a united front, issuing a joint statement saying they would “intensify their efforts to ensure TNK-BP’s continued success following the lapse of the BP-Rosneft share swap transaction”.
Despite the warm words the collapse of the Rosneft alliance is a blow for Bob Dudley, BP’s new chief executive, who had presented it as a way for the company to rebuild itself after last year’s Gulf of Mexico spill and find a new area of growth in the Arctic.
Shareholders have not been impressed and expressed frustration with the way the deal had been handled. Mr Dudley, say some institutional investors, now needs to present a clear strategy for growth.
Whether it is all over remains to be seen – doing business in Russia is anything but a linear exercise. BP said earlier this week it continues to talk with Rosneft and AAR. Rosneft has seemingly blown hot and cold, signalling it is ready to talk to BP’s rivals such as ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell about teaming up in the Arctic but also announcing on Wednesday that talks with BP and AAR had yielded fresh proposals from BP on co-operation.
BP declined to comment on how the talks in Cyprus had progressed. Long-term industry observers believe a deal could still happen, noting that BP is keen to team up with Rosneft, while the Russian oil champion needs BP’s technical expertise to explore in the Arctic and is keen on the share swap – something that no other oil major is likely to agree to. What all of that means is that the cards are very much in Mr Fridman’s hands.
| Type: | NORMAL |
| Company: | BP俄罗斯 |
| Country: | 俄罗斯 |
| Url: | http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3a619980-8303-11e0-85a4-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz1Nzqdxr2U |