Russia's Energy Minister Sergey Shmatko said on Monday he expects a deal on the exchange of 9.5% of the shares of Russian state-controlled oil major Rosneft for 5.0% in U.K. oil company BP to go through very soon.
“We expect that the deal will be closed,” Shmatko told journalists.
BP and Rosneft agreed the $16 billion share swap deal on January 14. The two firms also agreed to jointly undertake exploration and development projects on the Russian Arctic shelf.
However, Alfa Access Renova (AAR), the Russian consortium that half-owns TNK-BP Holding, subsequently said the BP-Rosneft deal violates the right of refusal on deals in Russia enshrined in TNK-BP's shareholder agreement and took the case to court.
Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin noted earlier that the Stockholm Arbitration Court did not block the BP-Rosneft deal, but extended the injunction until April 7.
An AAR source, commenting on Sechin’s words, said on Friday that the court had taken the explicit decision to ban all three components of the deal: the agreement on cooperation in exploration and development of oil and gas in the Arctic, a framework agreement that includes a variety of aspects of the strategic partnership between BP and Rosneft, and the exchange of shares, which will consolidate the strategic partnership between the companies. He also said that BP requested that the arbitration court hold another hearing after April 4.
BP has said that it will look for an opportunity to close the deal with Rosneft despite the temporary ban. The British company announced its intention to consult lawyers on whether the exchange of shares could be considered separate from other aspects of the agreement with Rosneft.
MOSCOW, March 28 (RIA Novosti)
