BP will exit its 19.7% stake in Russian Rosneft, CEO Looney to step down from Rosneft board

London, February 28 - Neftegaz.RU. British energy giant BP announced that it would exit its stake in Rosneft, 2 days after the oil giant had come under pressure from the UK government.
BP has held the shareholding in Rosneft since 2013.

Potential buyers are not listed in BP's message.
The buyers of 19.75% of Rosneft could be one of the Chinese state-owned companies, since China has not imposed sanctions against Russia.
It is possible to sell such a large share also to India, or it will be a Russian investor.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng held a virtual call with BP’s CEO Bernard Looney for around 20 minutes on Feb.25 to discuss the company’s position.
bp CEO Bernard Looney said on Feb.27:

• Like so many, I have been deeply shocked and saddened by the situation unfolding in Ukraine and my heart goes out to everyone affected
• It has caused us to fundamentally rethink bp’s position with Rosneft
• I am convinced that the decisions we have taken as a board are not only the right thing to do, but are also in the long-term interests of bp

BP admitted in 2021 that sanctions on Russia could be problematic for its business, as global leaders are lining up to impose an even more stringent economic retaliation against the Kremlin.
The company, which co-owns Rosneft with the Russian government, said in its annual report that:

• events in or relating to Russia, including trade restrictions and other sanctions, could adversely impact our income and investment in or relating to Russia

BP's latest annual results revealed Rosneft accounted for $2.7 billion of its profits, about a 5^th of its total.

Other international oil companies also have strong links to Russia, such as TotalEnergies which holds 19.4% of Novatek, Russia’s 2^nd-largest natural gas producer.
It accounts for around 5% of the French supermajor’s oil production, and 30% of its natural gas.

UK-based Shell also owns a 27.5% stake in Sakhalin-2, which it describes as one of the world's largest integrated oil & gas projects.
Meanwhile certain firms like Wintershall DEA are keeping a watchful eye on the impact of any potential sanctions to their businesses.