TNK-BP dispute seen tearing company apart

By Amie Ferris-Rotman

MOSCOW (Reuters) - TNK-BP Chief Executive Robert Dudley said a shareholder dispute would "tear the company apart" after a group of employees filed a lawsuit on Thursday that accused him of mismanaging Russia's No. 3 oil firm.

Oil major BP (BP.L) has been at loggerheads in recent months with four Russian-connected billionaires who own the other half of TNK-BP (TNBPI.RTS) over company management and strategy.

"We have reached a new low in the tactics being used," Dudley told a packed room of journalists and senior TNK-BP executives in central Moscow.

"These claims will tear the company apart. All shareholders and staff will lose."

The lawsuit was brought by a group of 16 TNK-BP employees, led by Vice-President for Legal Issues Elvardi Stafilov, who said Dudley's contract had expired on December 31, 2007. Russian shareholders have demanded his resignation.

TNK-BP, which produces 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.

The four accuse Dudley of poor performance and of showing favouritism to BP. BP denies both allegations, saying Dudley has performed well and acts impartially in the interests of both groups of shareholders.

Stafilov, who held the news conference in TNK-BP's headquarters, repeatedly said the suit was unconnected with the shareholder conflict.