Minority shareholders of the traded subsidiary of Russian oil producer TNK-BP Ltd. have filed to withdraw a $3 billion suit against BP PLC (BP), the shareholders' lawyer said Monday, as the British major and its partners close in on deals to sell Russia's No. 3 oil producer to state-controlled oil giant OAO Rosneft (ROSN.RS).

Dmitry Chepurenko declined to say why the minority shareholders of TNK-BP Holding were withdrawing the suit. A lawyer for BP declined immediate comment.

The termination of the suit over a failed Arctic exploration deal signed in 2011 comes after BP and its partner in TNK-BP, the Alfa Access Renova consortium of Soviet-born tycoons, have both agreed to sell their stakes in the company to Rosneft. The deal would transform Rosneft into the world's largest listed oil producer.

Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin said last week that he expects to agree on the final stage of the $55 billion TNK-BP acquisition this month and that the deal is now irreversible.

A court in Siberia ruled in July that BP caused damage to TNK-BP and the interests of its minority shareholders when it sought an alliance last year with Rosneft in the Arctic exploration deal without involving TNK-BP.

AAR blocked that alliance in separate legal proceedings in the U.K. The consortium claimed successfully that the deal with Rosneft violated the TNK-BP shareholder agreement, which states that both partners should pursue all opportunities in Russia through the joint venture.

The July ruling focused on a meeting of TNK-BP's board on March 12, 2011 , where the proposal was raised that TNK-BP should replace BP in the alliance with Rosneft. The minority shareholders argued that the four directors appointed to the board by BP voted against the proposal on instructions from the U.K. company.

A Russian court had been scheduled to hear BP's appeal on Dec. 14.

BP also agreed last month to pay $325 million to AAR to settle a separate arbitration case related to the aborted Arctic exploration pact with Rosneft.
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