TNK-BP move a success, Dudley says

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LONDON, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- An agreement with Rosneft for a stake in joint venture TNK-BP removed "considerable uncertainty" for shareholders, BP Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley said.

British energy company BP announced net income in the third quarter of 2012 reached $5.4 billion, up from the $5 billion reported for last year. Dudley said the decision to divest the TNK-BP joint venture in Russia was part of the company's success.

"Rosneft is a great company with great opportunities," he said in a statement. "I believe our agreement will remove considerable uncertainty for our shareholders about BP's future in Russia."

State-controlled Rosneft reached an in-principle agreement with BP to buy its half of TNK-BP for $17.1 billion in cash and 12.84 percent of Rosneft's shares.

BP said its production of oil and natural gas outside of the TNK-BP venture was 2.6 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, about 3 percent lower than the same period last year. Outside of the joint venture, Dudley said 11 of the 15 upstream projects slated for a 2014 launch were in "higher-margin areas" like the Gulf of Mexico, Angola, Azerbaijan and the North Sea.

"BP is becoming a tightly focused oil and gas company," he said in a statement. "I am confident we will be well-positioned to grow long term sustainable free cash flow and create value for our shareholders."