TNK-BP's Considine Resigns as Dudley Appeals Ban

By Torrey Clark

Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- TNK-BP Executive Vice President Tony Considine resigned, the second top manager to leave the venture this month as BP Plc and its billionaire partners fight for control of Russia's third-largest oil producer.

Considine will continue overseeing refining, trading and marketing operations until Sept. 15 before returning to his family in Australia, TNK-BP spokesman Peter Henshaw said by phone in Moscow today. The executive has served five years in his post after helping to set up the venture, Henshaw said.

Considine's decision follows the exit of James Owen, who quit as TNK-BP's chief financial officer Aug. 4, as London-based BP struggles for control of the 50-50 venture with its billionaire partners. Henshaw declined to say whether more managers may leave.

``We regret we are losing Tony,'' Chief Operating Officer Tim Summers said in an e-mailed statement today. ``His team has embodied what TNK-BP was set up to achieve - a unique and powerful blend of Russian and international expertise and talent which leads the industry.''

BP, Europe's second-largest oil company, relies on its half of the Russian company for almost a quarter of its reserves and production. The other half of TNK-BP is split between companies controlled by billionaires Mikhail Fridman, German Khan, Viktor Vekselberg and Len Blavatnik, together known as AAR.

Chief Executive Officer Robert Dudley left Russia July 24, citing ``sustained harassment'' amid court battles and labor and tax inspections that led to him being disqualified from his post in Russia for two years. His lawyers appealed that ban for breaching labor rules today, Henshaw said.

Dudley, who is running the venture from a location that hasn't been disclosed by BP or TNK-BP, sent a letter protesting the actions of the labor inspectorate to the Prosecutor General and heads of five other state bodies last week, according to a copy of the complaint obtained by Bloomberg News.

To contact the reporter on this story: Torrey Clark in Moscow at tclark8@bloomberg.net.