The British oil major has requested that three Russian top managers at TNK-BP Management be dismissed from their posts, Stan Polovets said.
However, Viktor Vekselberg, chairman of TNK-BP Management's board of directors, has twice rejected the request on the grounds that dismissal of top executives falls within the purview of TNK-BP Limited.
AAR - the consortium of Russian investors, also including businessmen German Khan, Mikhail Fridman and Len Blavatnik - said on Wednesday it would sue BP, which holds the other 50% in TNK-BP, for attempts to seize control of the joint venture. AAR said it planned legal action in the international arbitration court in Stockholm, as well as in Russia.
The Russian shareholders have demanded equal board representation, a cut in TNK-BP's foreign staff and the replacement of Dudley, who they accuse of putting BP's interests ahead of TNK-BP, including in oil projects abroad.
Set up in 2003, TNK-BP is Russia's third largest producer. It accounts for a quarter of BP's overall output.
