LONDON, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- British energy company BP said any notion that it would settle with Russian joint venture TNK-BP over a scrapped arctic deal is "nonsense," a spokesman said.
A proposed January deal between BP and Rosneft for work in the arctic collapsed after TNK-BP said the proposal violated terms of its shareholder agreement with BP. Rosneft later landed a similar deal with U.S. supermajor Exxon Mobil.
Lawyers working for TNK-BP told the company's board of directors during a Friday meeting they had a strong case against BP, The Daily Telegraph newspaper in London reports. Following the announcement, directors Gerhard Schroeder and Jim Leng resigned as independent directors of TNK-BP. Both declined to comment, the newspaper adds.
A spokesman for BP, however, dismissed the allegations.
"There was no loss or damage to TNK-BP so any idea there should be a settlement is nonsense," the spokesman was quoted as saying. The British company said no resolutions were offered during the Friday meeting and both sides of the joint venture remained committed to the future.
"Both shareholders … reconfirmed their commitment to the continuing success and future growth of TNK-BP," the spokesman said.
The British company had its Moscow offices raided during the summer in connection with the complaints.
