BP says talks advancing on sale TNK-BP to Rosneft
British oil company BP said on Monday it is in “advanced discussions” on selling its 50-percent stake in the troubled Russian joint venture TNK-BP to the main Russian oil producer Rosneft.
“No agreement has yet been reached,” it added in a statement on the sale which would catapult Rosneft into being the world’s second-biggest oil company behind Saudi Arabia’s Aramco.
According to the Wall Street Journal, BP would receive $26.6 billion (20.4 billion euros) or $28 billion, depending on how calculations are made, in a combination of cash and stock, giving BP a stake of under 20 percent in state-controlled Rosneft.
A deal could be announced later on Monday following a meeting between Rosneft chief executive Igor Sechin and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the newspaper added.