BP sues Renova in latest spat with AAR partners
OIL giant BP has launched a case with the Stockholm court of arbitration against one of the shareholders in its Anglo-Russian TNK-BP joint venture, echoing the two sides’ tussle over Rosneft earlier in the year.
BP filed a claim last week against Renova, part of the Alfa-Access-Renova (AAR) consortium that controls half of TNK-BP, for violating an existing shareholders’ agreement by operating independent gas and fuel firms in Russia and Ukraine.
A spokesperson for Renova told a Russian newspaper yesterday that the group denied it had violated the pact, but confirmed that BP was seeking arbitration.
The latest dispute is part of a long-running conflict between BP and the Russian billionaire investors in the TNK-BP joint venture, who in January claimed BP had breached its own shareholder agreement in their pursuit of the Russian state oil firm Rosneft. The $10bn share swap agreement later collapsed.
BP declined to comment due to the confidential nature of the arbitration process. Renova was unavailable for comment.
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