Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) and British Petroleum CEO Lord John Brown
Photo: Dmitry Azarov
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Lord Brown Plays Antimonopolist
Head of BP Lord John Brown met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and head of Rosneft Sergey Bogdanchikov in Moscow on Friday. The same day, it was announced that TNK-BP would compete with Rosneft in the Saturday auction of the 9.44 percent of Rosneft stock owned by YUKOS. Industry experts say that the company's competition was needed to hold the auction. That package may be exchanged by Rosneft in the future for the 25 percent of the stock in TNK-BP that belongs to Alfa Group.
The official purpose of the meeting with Brown, which was closed to the press, was to introduce Tony Hayward, who will replace Brown on August 1. It lasted 35 minutes. The Kovykta gas condensate deposit, which TNK-BP controls, was also discussed. Later, the participation of TNK-BP subsidiary Samotlorneftgaz in the auction of Rosneft shares belonging to YUKOS was announced.
“For the auction to take place, a second participant was needed. But finding a company that could pay $1.5 billion [deposit for participation in the auction] was rather difficult,” a source close to Rosneft told Kommersant. Analysts expect Rosneft to win the auction. The participation of TNK-BP adds legitimacy to it, however.
Experts say that TNK-BP will receive “loyalty” from the state in return for its participation in the auction. BP is working with Rosneft on projects in Sakhalin and is considering exploring the Arctic shelf. BP already helped Rosneft during its IPO, buying a 1.4-percent share in the company.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Mar. 26, 2007
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