Putin Says Shell ‘Comfortable Partner’; BP Still Has Chance
Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) is a “comfortable partner” that could replace BP Plc (BP/) in an alliance with OAO Rosneft, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said.
He didn’t rule out that BP and Rosneft, Russia’s biggest oil producer, could still cooperate on offshore deposits.
“We have worked with Shell for a long time, it’s quite a comfortable partner for us,” Putin told reporters outside Moscow today. “But work with BP isn’t over yet; different variants are possible there.”
BP’s $7.8 billion share swap with Rosneft collapsed last week after the U.K. company’s local billionaire partners blocked the deal in court. BP had sought, with Rosneft’s support, to buy out AAR, as its partners in the Russian TNK-BP venture are known, for about $32 billion, a person with knowledge of the talks said last week.
Rosneft said talks with BP could continue after proposals beyond the original deal, which expired on May 16, were made. For the Arctic venture, Rosneft has the right to seek a new partner, the person said at the time. Shell, Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. are potential candidates should Rosneft look for a new partner to explore the blocks in the Kara Sea, the person said.
Shell’s Chief Executive Officer Peter Voser and Putin’s deputy in charge of energy, Igor Sechin, met this week to discuss possible projects, including exploration in the Arctic and Black Sea waters. Rosneft CEO Eduard Khudainatov also attended the meeting.
The discussions excluded any proposals to use Shell’s shares, Kirsten Smart, a London-based spokeswoman at Shell, said on May 25.
To contact the reporters on this story: Ilya Khrennikov in Moscow at ikhrennikov@bloomberg.net Anna Shiryaevskaya in Moscow at o ashiryaevska@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Will Kennedy at wkennedy3@bloomberg.net
Rate this Page