Dudley ousted from TNK-BP chair?

MOSCOW, July 7 (UPI) -- The Russian shareholders of the jointly owned TNK-BP held a meeting Monday to try to remove the company boss from his office in Moscow, officials said.

The four largest Russian shareholders -- Len Blavatnik, Mikhail Fridman, German Khan and Viktor Vekselberg -- say the chief executive of TNK-BP, Robert Dudley, is representing only the interests of the British portion of the conglomerate, The Times of London reported.

"BP wants to operate our joint venture like a BP subsidiary, and it wants to control all aspects of its business," Vekselberg said.

Vekselberg called the meeting for Monday in Moscow, accusing Dudley of "repeated" violations of Russian labor, tax and migration laws.

A dispute erupted last week over work permits and visas for the Moscow staff, prompting Dudley to issue an e-mail warning workers to prepare to leave the country.

The four billionaires want a larger voice on the board of directors for TNK-BP and accuse their British counterparts of thwarting their attempts to further their stake in the European energy market.

Energy and market analysts see the Russian belligerence as a move by the Kremlin to insert energy giant Gazprom into the deal. Officials close to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, the former Gazprom chief, insist there is no such motivation, however.

Dudley most likely will survive the meeting Monday because BP holds the majority on the board of directors.