The embattled American head of Russian oil firm TNK-BP, Robert Dudley, failed to get his Russian visa renewed on Friday but was allowed to stay for ten more days and said he was optimistic he would get it. "Over the next ten days I will answer questions surrounding the labour terms of my contract and I'm optimistic this will be resolved," a smiling Dudley told reporters before stepping back into the building of Moscow's migration service.
"They were being very cooperative today," Dudley said, holding up his "transitional" visa, allowing him to work in the country until 27 July.
Oil major BP has been at loggerheads in recent months with the four Russian-connected billionaires who own the other half of TNK-BP, over TNK-BP's management control and strategy.
The quartet of billionaire shareholders, Mikhail Fridman, Viktor Vekselberg, German Khan and Len Blavatnik, want to sack Dudley, accusing him of poor performance and of showing favouritism to BP.
BP denies both allegations and is keen to keep Dudley as chief executive because his large powers de facto guarantee BP's management control in the venture.
Dudley's visa is due to expire on Saturday and the federal migration service has said it can renew the visa only if Dudley presents a valid working contract.
The Russian side says the contract expired at the end of last year and has never been renewed but Dudley says he has a valid, open-ended contract.
TNK-BP, which pumps a quarter of BP's global output, has been deluged with a wave of tax, labour and police inspections and visa problems. BP has accused the four billionaires of using corporate raider tactics to seize control, but the Russian side says it just wants to improve performance.
A group of TNK-BP employees filed a lawsuit on Thursday that accused Dudley of mismanaging Russia's number three oil firm. The case also accused Dudley of choosing staff based on nationality.
Dudley said he believed one or more rival shareholders could be behind the latest lawsuit.
By Amie Ferris-Rotman, Reuters
