MOSCOW, Sept. 21 (UPI) -- British supermajor BP may take on shares in Russian state oil company Rosneft in a share swap that could involve part of TNK-BP, an authority said.
BP officials, including Chief Executive Bob Dudley and board Chairman Carl-Henric Swanberg, met this week with Russian Vladimir Putin to discuss the company's position in Russia. Dudley had served as the top official at Russian joint venture TNK-BP before moving to the British major.
BP had said it was interested in the potential sale of its stake in TNK-BP following a move by Alfa Access Renova, which represents Russian interests in the joint venture, to purchase part, or all, of BP's half.
An unnamed source familiar with the situation told Russian business daily Kommersant that BP could take on shares in Rosneft in exchange for holdings in TNK-BP.
"Everything will depend on AAR's position," the source said. "If they (AAR) come to realize they won't be able to repurchase BP's stake and won't lay clams on it, Rosneft and BP will announce a deal in the near future."
In July, a Russian court ordered the British company to pay TNK-BP more than $3 billion for a failed 2011 proposal with Rosneft for work in the arctic. TNK-BP had said that deal violated the terms of the shareholder agreement with BP.
Rosneft during the summer said it let BP know it was interested in taking on its stake in TNK-BP.