MOSCOW, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- Russian billionaires tied to energy company BP are said to be upset over a deal with rival oil company Rosneft, though BP officials said the ties were cordial.
British energy company BP signed a deal with Russia's state-owned oil company Rosneft in part to explore for hydrocarbons in Russia's arctic north. BP will pay nearly $8 billion in shares for a 9.5 percent stake in Rosneft, the companies said in a statement.
Russian billionaires tied to Anglo-Russian venture TNK-BP, however, are upset they were cut out of the deal, The Telegraph newspaper in London reports.
BP Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley told the newspaper last week that ties with BP's sister company in Russia were amicable.
"We have an agreement with them to consider them joining anything we do in Russia," he said. "So, yes, we're talking with them about them joining the arctic deal."
The Russian moguls, however, said they would take legal action if they don't get access to key provisions of the deal, the newspaper adds.
Dudley was run out of his position in Moscow when he served as chief at TNK-BP from 2003-08. The Russian side complained he was moving the company too close to the BP side.
