Dispute ends as BP loses its man in Russia
The Long-running dispute between BP and its Russian partners at joint venture TNK-BP drew to a close yesterday, after the two signed a deal which paves the way for floating up to 20 per cent of the company.
But the embattled chief executive Bob Dudley, who was chosen by BP, will get the chop – a major climb down for the British oil giant.
BP will keep its 50 per cent stake in the venture, a big relief for the firm, which had feared it would have been forced to reduce its holding. In exchange, it must nominate a new Russian-speaking chief executive to take over from Dudley.
Under the memorandum of understanding, which has yet to be translated into a legally-binding agreement, the structure of the board will change to appoint three independent directors.
Previously, the 10- man board was composed of five directors with five being chosen by BP and five being chosen by its Russian partners: Mikhail Fridman, Viktor Vekselberg, Leonard Blavatnik and German Khan.
Under the new structure, it will grow to 11 members with either side choosing four each. A further three independent directors will be appointed – although measures to ensure their bipartisanship have not been decided.
