MOSCOW, March 3 (UPI) -- Anglo-Russian venture TNK-BP and its British counterpart BP are at odds over how to proceed regarding an asset swap with Russian oil company Rosneft, they said.
TNK-BP, a joint venture between a group of Russian billionaires and BP, is at odds with the British supermajor and Rosneft over an asset swap that included exploration deals in the Russian arctic.
BP in January agreed to pay Rosneft more than $8 billion in shares for a 9.5 percent stake in the Russian energy company in addition to a development agreement for the Kara Sea on Russian's northern continental shelf.
TNK-BP wants to intervene in the deal by purchasing a portion of BP's shares already authorized in the Rosneft deal and in turn pass those on to Rosneft in exchange for a minority stake in the company, London's Independent newspaper reports.
BP, however, said it had "practical and strategic concerns" about the proposal.
"The BP directors on the TNK-BP board will evaluate the proposal on its merits and vote in line with their fiduciary responsibilities as directors of TNK-BP," the company was quoted as saying.
TNK-BP and BP are historic rivals. Bob Dudley, now chief executive officer at BP, was run out of his post as head of TNK-BP in 2008 for what he said was harassment by the Russians.
