TNK-BP Shareholder Welcomes Dudley As Chief Despite Spat

27th Jul 2010 12:17

MOSCOW (Dow Jones)--TNK-BP International (TNBP.RS) billionaire shareholder German Khan said Monday he will "welcome" Robert Dudley as the new chief of parent company BP PLC (BP.LN), despite public disputes with his former boss at TNK-BP that soured Russian-British relations. "We fully support the nomination of Mr. Dudley," said Khan, who is executive director at TNK-BP as well as one of its key shareholders. "Our company reached significant results during the five years Dudley was in charge." Previous disputes with Dudley weren't "personal," he told journalists in Moscow. He also said Tony Hayward, set to step down as BP chief executive in October, would be "welcome" as a potential member of TNK-BP's board. Khan said BP isn't considering selling its stake in TNK-BP and that BP hasn't offered any of its assets for sale to TNK-BP, whose shareholders have sought to expand outside of Russia. TNK-BP's dividend policy isn't undergoing any changes, Khan said. -By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, Dow Jones Newswires; +7 495 232-9192, [email protected] (William Mauldin in Moscow contributed to this story.) (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 27, 2010 07:17 ET (11:17 GMT)