TNK-BP President Robert Dudley walks out after being interrogated by detectives of the RF Interior Ministry's investigating department, June 10, 2008, Moscow.
Photo: Andrei Stenin
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The Visa Pressing
Russia’s holders at TNK-BP are advancing towards gaining operational control over the company. Nonresident experts will be leaving Russia starting from the next week. The visas of ten of them are expiring and no new employment permits have been executed so far.
Should the papers be unready by the end of the month, all nonresident employees of TNK-BP, including Robert Dudley, whose resignation the Russian holders are seeking, will have to go out of the country.
Ten nonresident vice presidents of TNK-BP will have to leave Russia starting from the next week, a source close to TNK-BP holders said on condition of anonymity, specifying that their visas and employment permits are expiring. The remaining foreign experts of the company (roughly 100 overall) will probably go out of the country by the end of the month. The visas and work permits of all nonresident employees will end by late July and the new documents will hardly be executed in time.
“The procedure takes at least six weeks and there is no way to meet the deadline even if it is set into motion now,” the source explained. TNK-BP President Robert Dudley is of similar opinion. According to this top manager, the company has been endeavoring to sort out the problem since April, to no avail though.
The reduction of nonresident employees and Dudley’s resignation are the key demands of Russia’s co-owners of TNK-BP, and the causes of the tough opposition of another co-owner, BP.
TNK-BP is pari passu owned by BP and AAR consortium of Russia’s holders, including Mikhail Fridman’s Alfa Group, Leonard Blavatnik’s Access and Viktor Vekselberg’s Renova. AAR accuses Britain’s managers, including Mr Dudley, of managing the company for the sake of BP exclusively and presses for the operational control over TNK-BP. The Russians suggest revising the management structure at TNK-BP, which has been established in favor of BP. The British party opposes the changes, referring to holders’ agreement of 2003.
According to a few sources close to TNK-BP holders, the commission of Moscow authorities that are in charge of employment of nonresidents fixed June 26 a preliminary quota of 71 foreign experts for TNK-BP. Another meeting of the commission is slated for the next week.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of July 01, 2008
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