The head of BP intends to support Rosneft, despite the threat of new sanctions

The head of the BP oil company Robert Dudley promised to support the Russian Rosneft against the backdrop of the possible tightening of American sanctions against Moscow in connection with the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine. He excludes the possibility of selling a share in Rosneft, writes Inopressa.ru with reference to The Times .

Dudley made his statement in Moscow, where he visited a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Russian Geographical Society, headed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“We are firmly regarding our investments in Rosneft, and we will defend our investments,” he said. “For us, the business goes as before.”

Meanwhile, according to some reports, the United States is preparing to impose sanctions against a group of high -ranking representatives of Russia, including Igor Sechin, head of Rosneft.

Last week, BP shareholders at the annual assembly fell on management with questions about risks for the company due to the confrontation between Russia and the West about Ukraine, the newspaper Vedomosti recalls. Dudley then admitted that the situation around Ukraine is in the center of world attention, but said that BP could become a bridge between Russia and Europe, which depends on each other.

Currently, the BP has 19.75% of Rosneft shares, and this package is one of the main assets of the British concern. The share of Rosneft in the total production of BP according to the results of 2013 was more than 30%.

BP became the second largest shareholder of Rosneft on March 21, 2013, when Rosneft closed a transaction for the acquisition of 100% of TNK-BP shares from a British company and the Russian Consortium Aar, paying them a total of $ 44.4 billion and becoming the world's largest public oil and gas company.