03.21.07, 7:14 AM ET
LONDON (AFX) – TNK-BP has reiterated that its shareholders, led by oil giant BP PLC, are not selling shares, denying a news report the owners may be forced to share control of the Russian joint venture with state-run companies like Gazprom and Rosneft.
BP owns 50 pct of TNK-BP, while the remaining 50 pct is held by Russian partner Alfa and Access/Renova.
‘I feel it necessary to explain again that all speculation about a possible change of TNK-BP’s shareholding structure is not true,’ said Robert Dudley, chief executive of TNK-BP, in a statement.
The article, carried by the UK’s Guardian newspaper, said the change in the joint venture’s ownership could come at the end of this year, when the lock-up period for the shares expires.
It came amid pressure from the Russian government for TNK-BP to hand over part of the Kovykta gas project in east Siberia to a local partner such as Gazprom.
Late last year, intense pressure from the Russian state forced Royal Dutch Shell PLC to cede control of the giant 20 bln usd Sakhalin-2 project to Gazprom.
Gazprom paid 7.5 bln usd to get a 50 pct plus one share in Sakhalin-2, halving Shell’s stake to 27.5 pct, Mitsui & Co Ltd to 12.5 pct, and Mitsubishi Corp to 10 pct.
mbe/jag
Copyright AFX News Limited 2007.
This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.
EBOOK TITLE: “SIR HENRI DETERDING AND THE NAZI HISTORY OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON
EBOOK TITLE: “JOHN DONOVAN, SHELL’S NIGHTMARE: MY EPIC FEUD WITH THE UNSCRUPULOUS OIL GIANT ROYAL DUTCH SHELL” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.
EBOOK TITLE: “TOXIC FACTS ABOUT SHELL REMOVED FROM WIKIPEDIA: HOW SHELL BECAME THE MOST HATED BRAND IN THE WORLD” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.
