BP refused to sign an agreement with the Skolkovo Fund on a $10.5 million research project earlier this month, citing concerns about breaking TNK-BP's shareholder agreement, Kommersant reported Wednesday.
The signing was supposed to take place during British Prime Minister David Cameron's visit to Russia earlier this month, but BP said it feared accusations from TNK-BP's shareholders that the deal violated their rights.
The AAR consortium, which owns half of TNK-BP and includes Skolkovo Fund president Viktor Vekselberg, earlier blocked a proposed share swap between BP and Rosneft, claiming it violated its exclusivity agreement with BP.
(MT)