TNK-BP investors eye BP’s share in firm

Russian shareholders TNK-BP, the U.K. oil company’s joint venture in Russia, said July 18 that they are interested in buying a 25 percent stake in the company.

TNK-BP, Russia’s third-largest oil producer, is owned on 50-50 basis by BP and AAR, a consortium of Russian billionaire shareholders. The company has been mired in a lengthy dispute after AAR blocked BP’s deal with another Russian oil company, Rosneft.

AAR said in a statement on July 18 that it would like to buy a half of BP’s stake, or 25 percent of the company, at what it described “a market price.” Based on the oil firm’s market valuation at Moscow-based MICEX exchange, a quarter share in TNK-BP is worth some $9.7 billion.

Although mired in boardroom disputes for much of its existence, TNK-BP has generated healthy returns for both parties. Over the past years, TNK-BP’s output has accounted for more than a quarter of BP’s total global production. The British oil company drew some $3.7 billion in dividends from the venture last year alone, receiving a total of $19 billion since the company’s formation in 2003.

—Associated Press