BP announced on Sunday that it would “exit” its share in a major, state-owned Russian oil giant over the country’s invasion of Ukraine, saying the attack merited a “fundamental change” in its business holdings.
The British oil company said the share amounts to 19.75% of Russia’s Rosneft, a stake valued at $14 billion. It’s unclear how BP will divest itself of the holdings or who could buy them, but the decision reflects a broader shift among companies to abandon Moscow amid the ongoing assault.
If BP walks away from the holdings completely it could cost the company up to $25 billion, it said.
“Russia’s attack on Ukraine is an act of aggression which is having tragic consequences across the region,” Helge Lund, the company’s chairman said in a statement. “BP has operated in Russia for over 30 years, working with brilliant Russian colleagues. However, this military action represents a fundamental change. It has led the BP board to conclude, after a thorough process, that our involvement with Rosneft, a state-owned enterprise, simply cannot continue.”
BP’s current and former chief executives, Bernard Looney and Bob Dudley, also resigned from the Rosneft board with immediate effect.
In response, Rosneft released a statement attacking western media and accusing BP of bowing to public pressure to destroy a “30-year-long cooperation.”
“BP has come under unprecedented pressure from both the regulator and its shareholders,” Rosneft said in a statement translated by The Associated Press. “BP’s decision was preceded by a Western media campaign full of false reports and conclusions.”
Russia has drawn widespread fury around the globe for the invasion of Ukraine and faces both economic sanctions and a broader movement to reject anything to do with the Kremlin. Russian planes have been barred from many European nations’ airspace. Norway said its sovereign wealth fund would divest billions in assets from Russia. And liquor outlets in the U.S. and Canada have begun pulling Russian vodka from store shelves. Western nations have also said they will block Russia’s access to global financial networks.
The BP decision came amid sharp criticism from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and shortly after a call between BP’s chief executive and the British business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng.
Kwarteng praised BP’s move on Twitter: