19 Jan 2011 19:43

Rosneft not considering purchase of AAR's stake in TNK-BP

MOSCOW. Jan 19 (Interfax) - Rosneft is not thinking about buying the 50% stake in TNK-BP held by the Russian shareholder, the AAR consortium, Rosneft President Eduard Khudainatov told journalists.

"We have 4 billion tonnes of C1 reserves and 1.6 billion tonnes of C2. Let us get to work on that. We don't need any other stake. Why would we buy them and their assets at market prices? We're not even thinking about it," Khudainatov said.

AAR has said that Rosneft's tie-up with BP violates the TNK-BP shareholders' agreement. However, AAR has also said it is considering opportunities for TNK-BP to join the Rosneft/BP projects. That has fueled rumors that AAR might sell its stake in TNK-BP.

RTS$#&: ROSN, TNBP