LONDON – BP PLC is attempting to convince an arbitration tribunal in London to allow a controversial share swap with Russia’s OAO Rosneft to go ahead.
The London-based Stockholm Arbitration Tribunal last month blocked an $8 billion share swap and Arctic exploration deal after objections from BP’s partners in its Russian joint venture TNK-BP.
BP was pressing the tribunal on Monday to allow the $5 billion share swap to proceed on its own.
BP first announced the deal in January as part of its plans to move on from the devastating Gulf of Mexico spill.
But Alfa-Access-Renova, BP’s partners in TNK-BP, argued that the deal would erode their joint venture’s competitive advantage and sued to stop it.
A new ruling is expected Monday or Tuesday.