AAR, BP bury hatchet over TNK-BP

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LONDON, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- Shareholders in joint Russian oil venture TNK-BP confirmed they reached an agreement to settle outstanding issues to avoid arbitration.

"BP and AAR, joint shareholders in TNK-BP, today announced that they have reached a comprehensive agreement to settle all outstanding disputes between them, including the current arbitrations brought by each against the other," a statement released by BP read.

Russia's state-owned oil company Rosneft agreed recently to take on BP's stake in the joint venture for $17.1 billion in cash and 12.84 percent of treasury shares. Rosneft, in a deal with Russian billionaires represented by AAR, agreed to take on the other half of TNK-BP in a deal worth $28 billion.

The sides in the joint venture have been at odds over the direction of the Anglo-Russian entity. The two parties, the statement read, are free to work with Rosneft and pursue other opportunities.

In July, a Russian court ordered the British company to pay TNK-BP more than $3 billion for a failed 2011 proposal with Rosneft for work in the arctic. TNK-BP had said that deal violated the terms of the shareholder agreement with BP.

"The agreement includes an immediate waiver of the new opportunities provision in the TNK-BP shareholder agreement, allowing each party to explore new opportunities and partnerships in Russia and the Ukraine, effective immediately," the statement read.