British Petroleum (NYSE: BP) will abandon its 19.75% stake in Rosneft by taking an immediate non-cash charge.
BP’s CEO Bernard Looney has also stepped down from Rosneft’s board, followed by his predecessor at Bob Dudley.
Assessments of the stake may vary at the moment with what is a dynamic situation on both oil and currency markets, but at the end of 2021, BP’s holdings were valued at $14 billion.
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Citing the “act of aggression in Ukraine” and a “fundamental change” in how the company would be able to operate there, Looney explained the decision to part ways with a company that is partially owned by the government in Russia.
The decision appears to have been reached after pressure from the government in the UK was ramped up.
The UK’s Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng quick took to Twitter, saluting the BP decision to part ways with Rosneft:
