DGAP-Adhoc
bp to exit Rosneft shareholding
DGAP-Ad-hoc: BP p.l.c. / Key word(s): Strategic Company Decision
press release |
- bp will exit its 19.75% shareholding in Rosneft.
- Both bp-nominated directors to resign from Rosneft board with immediate effect.
- bp will no longer report reserves, production or profit for Rosneft.
- Changes in accounting treatment of Rosneft shareholding expected to lead to a material non-cash charge.
- bp's financial frame and distribution guidance remains unchanged.
The bp board today announced that bp will exit its shareholding in Rosneft. bp has held a 19.75% shareholding in Rosneft since 2013.
Additionally, bp chief executive officer Bernard Looney is resigning from the board of Rosneft with immediate effect. The other Rosneft director nominated by bp, former bp group chief executive Bob
Dudley, is similarly resigning from the board.
The resignations will require bp to change its accounting treatment of its Rosneft shareholding and, as a result, it expects to report a material non-cash charge with its first quarter 2022
results, to be reported in May.
bp chair Helge Lund said: "Russia's attack on Ukraine is an act of aggression which is having tragic consequences across the region. bp has operated in Russia for over 30 years, working with
brilliant Russian colleagues. However, this military action represents a fundamental change. It has led the bp board to conclude, after a thorough process, that our involvement with Rosneft, a
state-owned enterprise, simply cannot continue. We can no longer support bp representatives holding a role on the Rosneft board. The Rosneft holding is no longer aligned with bp's business and
strategy and it is now the board's decision to exit bp's shareholding in Rosneft. The bp board believes these decisions are in the best long-term interests of all our shareholders."