Bloomberg

BP is preparing to sell its stake in TNK-BP to Rosneft to salvage its partnership with the Russian company, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal. The British company's management notified its TNK-BP partners, the AAR consortium, on Monday that they would soon receive a letter in which BP would inform them of its decision to sell part of its 50% stake in the joint venture. This would be the first formal step toward selling the stake.

In January, BP and Rosneft agreed to create a global strategic alliance, the essence of which is a mutual exchange of shares and the creation of a joint venture to develop three fields in the Kara Sea. But the deal was torpedoed by BP's Russian partner in TNK-BP - the AAR consortium (Alfa-Access-Renova). The sale of Rosneft's stake could significantly exacerbate relations with Russian oligarchs from the AAR consortium, but it could also help BP overcome their opposition to a strategic alliance with a Russian company. Last month, the companies almost reached a compromise, when BP and Rosneft could buy out the AAR consortium's stake in TNK-BP for $32 billion, which would remove all obstacles to joint development of the shelf. But the negotiations fell through due to the deadline for AAR to withdraw its claim from the Stockholm arbitration court. After that, Rosneft said that it would look for another partner abroad to develop the Arctic shelf.

A BP spokesman neither confirmed nor denied this information, stating that "no decisions have been made to sell any stakes in TNK-BP and there are currently no such intentions." (quoted by Reuters). It is quite possible that the announcement of the sale of the stake may be a tactical ploy and BP has not yet made a final decision on whether to sell it or not, the WSJ notes.

This development was a major setback for BP CEO Robert Dudley, Rosneft and the Russian authorities, who publicly supported the alliance between the two companies. BP threatened to sell half of its stake in Rosneft and even sent a warning letter on May 2, but nothing more was said, as negotiations with the Russian company intensified after that letter. However, the matter did not move forward in May. BP’s latest statement about selling its stake in TK-BP, first verbally over the phone and then at a meeting in London on Monday, may be a new attempt to revive the negotiations.

However, BP could sell Rosneft half of its 50% stake in TNK-BP, giving Rosneft the power to block major appointments and other decisions at the oil company. "Of course, we won't be happy to be next to Rosneft," said a source close to the company's Russian owners. "They will be able to block almost all important decisions."

As a result of this sale, BP may finally get rid of the obstacles to partnership with Rosneft. The exchange of shares and joint development of the Arctic shelf are already a thing of the past, but other options for cooperation are possible. After purchasing the stake, Rosneft may also use new levers of influence to force AAR to sell its stake. A company representative said that he was not aware of any negotiations with BP about purchasing a stake in TNK-BP.

Under the terms of the TNK-BP shareholder agreement, after BP is officially notified of its intention to sell part of its stake, the AAR consortium must decide within 75 days whether to make a counteroffer. If the decision is positive, BP will have 90 days to negotiate with AAR on selling the stake to its partners. But ultimately, BP will be able to sell the Rosneft shares, even if AAR's offer turns out to be more advantageous. A source close to the consortium says that the Russian shareholders will certainly decide to make a counteroffer and, in addition, will try to challenge BP's actions in court again.

BP may sell its stake in TNK-BP to Rosneft