BP: committed to Russia stake despite sanctions
LONDON (AP) — BP says it remains committed to its investment in the Russian oil firm Rosneft, despite U.S. sanctions targeting its president, Igor Sechin, and sharp drops in income from its stake.
BP said its so-called underlying pre-tax replacement cost profit, a measure of earnings, for Rosneft fell to $271 million for the quarter ending in March, compared with $1.08 billion during the fourth quarter. The company says the result was hurt by depreciation of the ruble against the dollar.
Sechin has been president of Rosneft since the early 1990s. He is seen as the mastermind behind the 2003 legal assault on the private oil company Yukos and its founder, Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
BP says underlying replacement cost profit for the quarter was $3.2 billion, compared with $2.8 billion the previous quarter.
