The Telegraph
BP abandons stake in Russian oil giant Rosneft
BP has been forced to cut ties with the Kremlin-controlled energy giant Rosneft as it fuels Vladimir Putin’s assault on Ukraine.
The FTSE 100 oil giant will offload its 20pc stake in Rosneft, previously valued at $14bn (£10bn), and abandon its two seats on the board following pressure from the Government.
Bernard Looney, its chief executive, will step down from Rosneft’s board, as will Bob Dudley, the former BP boss, as it exits a three-decade venture in Russia.
The company said it is likely to take a significant financial hit from the sale.
It said it would also sell its investments in three joint ventures with Rosneft, while Mr Looney will separately resign from the board of the Russian Geographical Society. Separately, Norway said late on Sunday that its $1.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund would sell its Russian interests, around 0.2pc of its assets, which are worth around $2.8bn including stakes in Sberbank and Gazprom.
BP’s chairman Helge Lund called Russia’s invasion of Ukraine an “act of aggression which is having tragic consequences across the region”. He said the company’s stake in Rosneft was “no longer aligned with BP’s business and strategy”.
Mr Looney said war in Ukraine had “caused us to fundamentally rethink BP’s position with Rosneft”.
BP’s FTSE 100 rival Shell also has interests in Russia. The company, led by Ben van Beurden, owns 27.5pc of the giant Sakhalin-2 offshore gas project, alongside Russia’s state-owned gas company Gazprom which owns 50pc.
Shell is also one of the European companies which has funded Nord Stream 2, Russia’s controversial gas pipeline to Germany under the Baltic Sea which will help it bypass Ukraine. Germany has blocked the project in response to Russia’s invasion.
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