MOSCOW, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- Robert Dudley, embattled chief executive of Anglo-Russian merger TNK-BP, steps down Monday, shifting control over the group to Russian shareholders.
Dudley is serving out his last day as head of TNK-BP Monday. He is leaving his post as part of an agreement reached in September that concluded a row between BP officials and AAR, a group representing Russian interests, over the direction of the company.
AAR said Dudley was managing the firm as a division of BP, while BP officials worried about the growing influence of Russia in the merger.
BP said its choice of Denis Morozov will take over for Dudley, but, as former head of the Russian Norilsk Nickel, his ability to serve independently remains in doubt, the Financial Times reported Monday.
TNK-BP said earlier it was cutting its Moscow staff by 15 percent because of the strain from declining oil sales, though some observers see the cuts as part of a broader effort to oust BP executives.
Executive vice presidents for technology, Richard Herbert, and business support, Simon Bennett, are scheduled to step down in December.
