BP loses damages case in Russian Court

BP has lost its case in Russia’s Tyumen arbitration court and has been ordered to pay US$ 3.1 billion in damages to TNK-BP.

BP responded to the ruling with the following statement: “We will challenge today’s ruling in accordance with the procedure established by the law and expect that the court of appeal will adopt a reasonable and fair decision … We consider this claim as an attempted corporate attack and believe that today’s ruling should be cancelled.

‘All the plaintiff’s arguments are based on absurd assumptions and are not related to either the company’s interests or the interests of its shareholders.”

The damages case arose when minority investors in the joint venture TNK-BP stated that BP’s 2011 attempt to create an alliance with OAO Rosneft without involving TNK-BP harmed the joint venture. The alliance was blocked through legal action in the UK, but the damages case has continued.

The damages awarded by the court are only roughly a third of US$ 8.8 billion originally demanded by the minority shareholders.

There is speculation that other suits may be filed by other members of the TNK-BP joint venture in relation to BP’s business activities with other Russian businesses.

Edited from various sources by David Bizley

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