Robert Dudley, chief executive of Anglo-Russian oil producer TNK-BP (TNBP.RS), will be forced to leave Russia Saturday if a decision isn't made to renew his visa, but he will remain the head of the company, a representative of BP PLC (BP) said Thursday.
But BP's Russian partners, who are pressing for his ouster, later reacted by saying his contract had not been renewed since it expired on Dec. 31, 2007.
Russia's immigration service said Tuesday it couldn't renew Dudley's visa, saying he doesn't hold a valid employment contract - claims denied by BP and Dudley himself.
"Dudley will remain the chief executive of TNK-BP," said Alistair Graham, the chief shareholder representative for BP in the joint venture, which is owned on a parity basis between the U.K. oil major and a grouping of Russian billionaires, commonly known as AAR.
"At this stage, however, we do not have any insurance that the visa will be issued," Graham said, adding that BP has been in contact with government representatives to get the issue solved.
Dudley has, Graham added, all the necessary authority to continue as head of the company, and his exit from the country won't have any impact on the company's operations.
"Dudley's employment contract with OAO TNK-BP Management (or TBM, the structure in charge of hiring TNK-BP staff) was valid until December 31, 2007, and has not been renewed by the Board of TBM," AAR CEO Stan Polovets said in a statement.
According to Russian Federation Joint Stock Company Law, the CEO is appointed for a fixed period of time, the statement added.
AAR said the references by BP and Dudley to Russian Federation Labor Law reaching a different conclusion than AAR are misleading, as Joint Stock Company Law takes precedence over Labor Law on CEO status.
A U.S. executive backed by BP, Dudley is struggling to keep his position after AAR called for his dismissal and bureaucratic problems arose with his visa.
BP accuses the Russian shareholders of being behind the attempt to deny Dudley renewal of his visa.
Earlier Thursday, a group of managers at TNK-BP filed a lawsuit against the BP-appointed chief executive over mismanagement of the company - claims Dudley said were initiated by AAR and predicted would eventually tear the company apart.
"We have reached a new low in the tactics being used," Dudley said, referring to the three Russian tycoons Mikhail Fridman, Viktor Vekselberg and Len Blavatnik.
Dudley added that the timing appears to be aimed at discrediting his work while he is applying for a new work visa.
Analysts say AAR will eventually sell their stake in TNK-BP, Russia's third-largest oil producer, to a state-owned Russian energy company such as OAO Gazprom (OGZPY) or OAO Rosneft (ROSN.RS). The Russian shareholders have repeatedly denied any intentions to do so.