BP PLC, Europe's second-largest oil company, said it will appeal a Russian court decision to suspend TNK-BP CEO Robert Dudley from his post for labour code violations.
BP will give its "full support" to Dudley, who will act as TNK-BP's CEO until the appeal is reviewed by the authorities, Sheila Williams, a London-based spokesperson at BP, said by phone yesterday.
Dudley left Russia on July 24 following "sustained pressure" in a dispute with the Russian investors that co-own the joint venture. BP owns 50 per cent of TNK-BP Ltd., with the other half split between companies controlled by billionaires Mikhail Fridman, German Khan, Viktor Vekselberg and Len Blavatnik, together known as AAR. BP is locked in a dispute with its partners over strategy and management at the Russian venture, a quarter of BP's worldwide production.
