UK energy giant bp announced Sunday that it would be exiting from its 19.75 percent shareholding in Rosneft following Russia’s military action in Ukraine.
bp CEO Bernard Looney and bp group chief executive Bob Dudley will both also be resigning from the board of Rosneft with immediate effect.
Russia’s action in Ukraine 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,” bp chair Helge Lund said in a statement.
“Like so many, I have been deeply shocked and saddened by the situation unfolding in Ukraine and my heart goes out to everyone affected. It has caused us to fundamentally rethink bp’s position with Rosneft. I am convinced that the decisions we have taken as a board are not only the right thing to do, but are also in the long-term interests of bp. Our immediate priority is caring for our great people in the region and we will do our utmost to support them. We are also looking at how bp can support the wider humanitarian effort,” Looney said in the statement.
bp further warned that its decision would result in cost to the company of around $25 billion.
In addition, the firm said that it would exit its other businesses with Rosneft within Russia.
