MOSCOW, Jan 17 (Reuters) - The deal between Rosneft and BP to develop Arctic oil and gas could be done by the British major's Russian JV, TNK-BP, an official for the JV's Russian shareholders said on Monday.
TNK-BP is a 50-50 join venture between BP and AAR, the vehicle of four Russia-connected oligarchs.
On Friday, BP and Russia's state-controlled Rosneft agreed to start a joint exploration for offshore oil and gas in a deal that gives the UK company access to areas of the Arctic, previously reserved for Russian oil companies.
'BP and AAR have a shareholders' agreement, and it stipulates that all new projects in Russia and Ukraine, which are initiated by BP and AAR, should be executed via TNK-BP,' Stan Polovets, the AAR chairman told Reuters.
'So it is not excluded that the deal, which was announced, will be given over to TNK-BP if TNK-BP deems it interesting.'
He also said that TNK-BP's board of directors will discuss the Arctic deal 'soon'.
'TNK-BP's board is yet to discuss the Arctic development issue. We expect BP to provide us with the necessary information on the deal within next few days,' he said.
(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; editing by Toni Vorobyova) Keywords: ROSNEFT/BP (vladimir.soldatkin@reuters.com, +7 495 775 12 42, Reuters Messaging: vladimir.soldatkin.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
TNK-BP is a 50-50 join venture between BP and AAR, the vehicle of four Russia-connected oligarchs.
On Friday, BP and Russia's state-controlled Rosneft agreed to start a joint exploration for offshore oil and gas in a deal that gives the UK company access to areas of the Arctic, previously reserved for Russian oil companies.
'BP and AAR have a shareholders' agreement, and it stipulates that all new projects in Russia and Ukraine, which are initiated by BP and AAR, should be executed via TNK-BP,' Stan Polovets, the AAR chairman told Reuters.
'So it is not excluded that the deal, which was announced, will be given over to TNK-BP if TNK-BP deems it interesting.'
He also said that TNK-BP's board of directors will discuss the Arctic deal 'soon'.
'TNK-BP's board is yet to discuss the Arctic development issue. We expect BP to provide us with the necessary information on the deal within next few days,' he said.
(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; editing by Toni Vorobyova) Keywords: ROSNEFT/BP (vladimir.soldatkin@reuters.com, +7 495 775 12 42, Reuters Messaging: vladimir.soldatkin.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.