MOSCOW, July 1 (UPI) -- Russian oil venture TNK-BP may be interested in acquiring assets from its British counterparts at BP if a sale is offered, TNK-BP executives said.
Embattled BP chief Tony Hayward was in Moscow this week to discuss developments in the Russian energy sector. BP is scrambling to raise revenue as it struggles to cover the mounting costs from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Maxim Barsky, set to take over at the helm of TNK-BP in January, said his company could be interested in BP assets in European countries or in other Russian-allied nations. Barsky said he discussed possible sales with BP executives in Moscow but added the talks were "premature," the Platts news service reports.
Barsky was appointed chief executive of TNK-BP in November following a shake-up at the company's board of directors.
BP Managing Director Robert Dudley was run out of the Moscow office of Anglo-Russian venture TNK-BP in 2008 when he served as the head of the company. Dudley fled Russia in 2008 citing "harassment" from Alfa-Access-Renova, a group representing Russian tycoons in the venture.
AAR said Dudley was managing the firm as a division of BP, while BP officials worried about the growing influence of Russia in the merger.
