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BP sues Russian partner
in TNK-BP oil venture for US$362m
AAR, the Russian
partner in the TNK-NP oil venture is being sued for RUB8.5bn (US$362m)
by BP, due to an alleged breach of a tax deed of covenant. The legal
claim was submitted by BP to the High Court in London.
"While the full details of the legal claim have not yet been
submitted by BP, AAR considers the claim unjustified and grossly
inflated," AAR said. "AAR will vigorously defend against it."
This latest development is only part of a long-running saga, which
appears to slowly making BP’s participation in the joint-venture
increasingly tenuous. The British independent oil company has a
fifty peer cent in the joint venture, with the remaining equity held
by a consortium of Russian Billionaires, in the form of AAR. They
have of the belief that BP is treating TNK-BP as its own subsidiary
and thereby stunting its development as an independent company in
its own right.
The back-tax claim predates the formation of the TNK-BP venture. AAR
has said it has to date paid almost US$500m to BP in connection with
the tax deed of covenant. BP and AAR have been in discussions for
the past 12 months over the exact amounts owed by each party to the
other, Stan Polovets, chief executive officer of AAR, said in the
statement.
"We are very surprised that instead of trying to resolve this matter
through dialogue, BP has turned to British courts with a claim that
is grossly inflated, he said. "AAR regards claim as another example
of BP's bullying tactics and an attempt by BP to deflect the focus
away from its mismanagement of TNK-BP," Mr Polovets said.
The owners of AAR are now mounting a challenge of their own: to
obtain the dismissal of TNK-BP’s current chief executive, Robert
Dudley
Reported by The Daily Telegraph and the Irish Times
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