In late May, the stakes escalated w

In late May, the stakes escalated when the three Russian oligarchs met with Tony Hayward and demanded that Robert Dudley be removed as TNK-BP CEO. According to a statement released by the Russian shareholders, Dudley was favoring BP over the Russian shareholders. A spokesperson for the Russians said, “He [Dudley] is acting in the interests of only 50 percent of the shareholders. We want someone who will pursue the interests of all shareholders, not just run TNK-BP like a BP subsidiary.”18 The Russian shareholders were particularly upset with Dudley’s five-year strategic plan forecasting lower shareholder returns in the coming years because of high taxes, increasing costs, and stagnant production. The Russian shareholders refused to approve the plan. They argued that Dudley was too focused on increasing reserves, and should be increasing the production of existing oil fields. They wanted the 2008 investment plan of $4.4 billion cut by $900 million and the money paid as dividends. BP argued that TNK-BP was the best performing oil company in Russia. According to Mikhail Fridman: There’s a strategic conflict of interests between TNK-BP and BP itself. We had a company that was strong, energetic, and aggressive in the good sense of the word. BP turned it into a typical bureaucracy…We don’t plan to leave, and I don’t think that they plan to leave. So, ultimately, we’re destined to come to some agreement.19 TB0009 11 Purchased by: Donna Sammis DONNA.SAMMIS@STONYBROOK.EDU on February 11, 2014 The attempt to portray this conflict as a dispute between a respectable Western company and some Russian oligarchs who are trying to take control using dirty methods is completely cynical. It is our partners who are using methods from the 1990s. There is a good English word: arrogance… We sensed this condescending attitude towards what we were saying [for months]…This is about the type of foreign investors Russia needs. We don’t need foreign investors who limit the development of the company