BP leaves partnership with Russian energy company Rosneft

Oil giant BP announced Sunday that it will release its stake in Russian energy company Rosneft — the latest private break in ties with Russia when the global superpower invades neighboring Ukraine.

BP, which has owned 19.75% of Rosneft since 2013, also said its CEO, Bernard Looney, would resign from the Russian company’s board with immediate effect. Bob Dudley, the former chief executive of BP, will also resign from Rosneft’s board of directors.

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“I am convinced that the decisions we have made as board are not only the right thing to do, but are also in BP’s long-term interest,” Looney said in a statement. “Our immediate priority is to take care of our wonderful people in the region and we will do everything we can to support them.”

The company explicitly stated that the ongoing Russian attack on Ukraine was the reason for the outage.

“Russia’s attack on Ukraine is an act of aggression with tragic consequences across the region,” said Helge Lund, president of BP. “BP has been in Russia for more than 30 years and has worked with its famous Russian colleagues. But this military action represents a fundamental change.”

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BP has also acknowledged that relations with Rosneft, a state-owned company, are of direct benefit to the Russian government.

A general view of the oil refinery at the Yerkta oil field, owned by the Irkutsk Oil Company, in the Irkutsk region, Russia, March 10, 2019. Photo taken on March 10, 2019. REUTERS / Vasily Fedosenko (Reuters / Vasily Fedosenko / Reuters Photo)

“We can no longer support BP representatives who play a role on Rosneft’s board of directors,” Lund said. Rosneft’s ownership is no longer aligned with BP’s operations and strategy and now it is the Board’s decision to relinquish BP’s stake in Rosneft. The BP Board of Directors believes that these decisions are in the long-term interest of all of our shareholders.”

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Kwasi Quarting, Britain’s Minister for Energy and Energy, praised BP’s move in a tweet on Sunday.

“The unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine should serve as a wake-up call for British companies with business interests in Putin’s Russia,” he said.