Control and Internationalization: Rosneft Swallows TNK-BP

Author(s): Jonas Grätz
Editor(s): Stephen Aris, Aglaya Snetkov, Matthias Neumann, Robert Orttung, Jeronim Perovic, Heiko Pleines, Hans-Henning Schröder
Series: Russian Analytical Digest (RAD)
Issue: 120
Pages: 12-13
Publisher(s): Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich; Research Centre for East European Studies, University of Bremen; Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies, George Washington University
Publication Year: 2012

'Its all our money', said Igor Sechin, CEO of Rosneft, during a conference call on Tuesday 24th October 2012. He was talking about the dividends of the jointventure TNK-BP from the first half of 2012. Due to the conflict between the shareholders of BP and AAR, a consortium of Russian 'oligarchs', they had not been paid out. The Sunday before this announcement Sechin had come back from London, where he had signed a deal with BP on the takeover of its half of TNK-BP. In exchange, the British oil major would get US-$17.1 billion plus 12.84% of Rosnefts shares. Later, BP would buy an additional 5.66% of Rosnefts shares. Back in Moscow, Sechin inked a deal with AAR to buy their part of the joint venture for US-$28 billion. Not many details emerged on this agreement, however. The AAR 'oligarchs' may yet receive parts of the sum in Rosneft shares, as a concession to 'liberal' factions in Moscow. However, the bigger part is likely to be in cash, with a tacit agreement that they will reinvest the major part of it in Russia.

Download:

English (PDF)