LONDON (Reuters) – Top Libyan oil official Shokri Ghanem has not defected, contrary to widespread reports, and is secretly working for Muammar Gaddafi to maintain ties with big oil companies, sources at western firms said.

A Libyan opposition source and a source at a major international oil company said Ghanem, one of the most senior figures in Gaddafi’s government, had invited representatives of oil companies to meet him last week in Tunisia, to discuss oil contracts.

“There were some invitations or advances but we did not accept,” said the source at a western oil company. “He was holding court in some form”.

A third source, at another western oil company, with operations in Libya, said the reports that Ghanem had deserted were incorrect.

“It is completely false that Shokri Ghanem is no longer working for Gaddafi’s government,” the source said.

Ghanem himself could not be contacted to comment.

Companies have been unable to conduct operations in Libya due to the uprising against the regime and military strikes by western powers, which means they are not in compliance with the obligations in their contracts.

LONDON (Reuters) – Top Libyan oil official Shokri Ghanem has not defected, contrary to widespread reports, and is secretly working for Muammar Gaddafi to maintain ties with big oil companies, sources at western firms said.

A Libyan opposition source and a source at a major international oil company said Ghanem, one of the most senior figures in Gaddafi’s government, had invited representatives of oil companies to meet him last week in Tunisia, to discuss oil contracts.

“There were some invitations or advances but we did not accept,” said the source at a western oil company. “He was holding court in some form.”

A third source, at another western oil company, with operations in Libya, said the reports that Ghanem had deserted were incorrect.

“It is completely false that Shokri Ghanem is no longer working for Gaddafi’s government,” the source said.

Ghanem himself could not be contacted to comment.

Companies have been unable to conduct operations in Libya due to the uprising against the regime and military strikes by western powers, which means they are not in compliance with the obligations in their contracts.

LONDON (Reuters) – BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research) struck a key victory in its battle to share the cost of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill when partner Mitsui & Co agreed on Friday to pay $1.1 billion toward the clean-up bill and possibly billions more in fines.

Japanese trading house Mitsui’s (8031.T: Quote, Profile, Research) exploration unit MOEX owned 10 percent of the Macondo well but had sought to avoid paying its share of the costs, claiming BP’s negligence exempted it from this obligation.

MOEX has dropped this claim and analysts said this weakened the case of 25 percent well shareholder Anadarko Petroleum (APC.N: Quote, Profile, Research), which has also invoked the same argument.

“This is the first recognition by one of the partners that actually…blame is shared and should be shared and therefore the costs should be shared as well,” Societe Generale analyst Irene Himona said.

“It is very significant because clearly now it means that BP can try and ensure that everybody else who is involved will also meet their obligations,” she added.

By 1337 GMT BP’s (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research)(BP.N: Quote, Profile, Research) shares were up 2.3 percent against a 0.8 percent rise in the STOXX Europe 600 Oil and Gas index .

Analysts said MOEX’s decision to abandon its claim not only meant BP will not face potentially massive civil fines alone, but also highlighted possible weaknesses in the argument of gross negligence. That could suggest that the U.S. government will struggle to prove it.

LONDON (Reuters) – MOEX, a unit of Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co, and partner in BP Plc’s doomed Macondo well has agreed to pay the UK oil major $1.1 billion (678 million pounds) towards the cost of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

MOEX had a 10 percent stake in the well and was liable for a commensurate portion of the costs, which BP estimated at $41 billion, including fines.

BP said in a statement on Friday the settlement excludes punitive damages — which BP does not believe will be payable — and fines, which analysts believe make up about $4 billion of BP’s estimate, suggesting the Japanese company is paying less than a third of its potential liability.

BP called on its other partner in the well, Anadarko Petroleum, to also settle. Anadarko has a 25 percent stake in the well, so if it settled on the same basis as MOEX, it could face a bill of almost $2.7 billion.

MOEX had previously refused to pay BP any money related to the disaster, saying it was due to BP’s negligence. MOEX has now joined BP in blaming the accident principally on Transocean, the company which BP hired to drill the well, under BP’s instruction.

The Commission appointed by President Barack Obama to investigate the rig blast which led to the United States’s worst ever spill said BP was responsible for most of the bad decisions on the rig.

Mitsui said it had no plan to change its forecast net profit or dividend in 2011/2012 after the settlement.

LONDON, May 20 (Reuters) – MOEX, a unit of Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co (8031.T: Quote, Profile, Research), and partner in BP Plc’s (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research) doomed Macondo well has agreed to pay the UK oil major $1.1 billion toward the cost of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

MOEX had a 10 percent stake in the well and was liable for a commensurate portion of the costs, which BP estimated at $41 billion, including fines.

BP said in a statement on Friday the settlement excludes punitive damages — which BP does not believe will be payable – and fines, which analysts believe make up about $4 billion of BP’s estimate, suggesting the Japanese company is paying less than a third of its potential liability.

BP called on its other partner in the well, Anadarko Petroleum (APC.N: Quote, Profile, Research), to also settle. Anadarko has a 25 percent stake in the well, so if it settled on the same basis as MOEX, it could face a bill of almost $2.7 billion.

MOEX had previously refused to pay BP any money related to the disaster, saying it was due to BP’s negligence. MOEX has now joined BP in blaming the accident principally on Transocean (RIGN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research)(RIG.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the company which BP hired to drill the well, under BP’s instruction.

The Commission appointed by President Barack Obama to investigate the rig blast which led to the United States’s worst ever spill said BP was responsible for most of the bad decisions on the rig.

Mitsui said it had no plan to change its forecast net profit or dividend in 2011/2012 after the settlement.

LONDON, May 20 (Reuters) – MOEX, a unit of Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co (8031.T: Quote, Profile, Research), and partner in BP Plc’s (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research) doomed Macondo well has agreed to pay the UK oil major $1.1 billion toward the cost of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

MOEX had a 10 percent stake in the well and was liable for a commensurate portion of the costs, which BP estimated at $41 billion, including fines.

BP said in a statement on Friday the settlement excludes punitive damages — which BP does not believe will be payable – and fines, which analysts believe make up about $4 billion of BP’s estimate, suggesting the Japanese company is paying less than a third of its potential liability.

BP called on its other partner in the well, Anadarko Petroleum (APC.N: Quote, Profile, Research), to also settle. Anadarko has a 25 percent stake in the well, so if it settled on the same basis as MOEX, it could face a bill of almost $2.7 billion.

MOEX had previously refused to pay BP any money related to the disaster, saying it was due to BP’s negligence. MOEX has now joined BP in blaming the accident principally on Transocean (RIGN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research)(RIG.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the company which BP hired to drill the well, under BP’s instruction.

The Commission appointed by President Barack Obama to investigate the rig blast which led to the United States’s worst ever spill said BP was responsible for most of the bad decisions on the rig.

Mitsui said it had no plan to change its forecast net profit or dividend in 2011/2012 after the settlement.

LONDON/MOSCOW (Reuters) – BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Rosneft’s (ROSN.MM: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) planned $16 billion share swap and an Arctic exploration venture collapsed on Tuesday, following opposition from BP’s partners in Russian venture, TNK-BP (TNBP.MM: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

The planned deal and an attempt by British group BP and Russian state-controlled Rosneft to buy out the billionaires who own half of TNK-BP, would have represented a major strategic shift for all the companies involved, if successful.

What now for the parties involved?

BP: Shrink to grow?

BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley trumpeted the Rosneft deal, which was intended to give BP an interest in leases which may contain over 40 billion barrels of oil, as a sign that BP could offer growth after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

With fields representing 500,000 barrels per day of oil and gas production sold to pay for the spill cleanup, analysts termed Dudley’s strategy of divesting mature assets and seeking out new projects as “shrink to grow.”

While the shrinkage in BP’s output and valuation is stark, its opportunities for expansion are fuzzy.

LONDON/MOSCOW, May 17 (Reuters) – BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Rosneft’s (ROSN.MM: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) planned $16 billion share swap and an Arctic exploration venture collapsed on Tuesday, following opposition from BP’s partners in Russian venture, TNK-BP (TNBP.MM: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz). [ID:nLDE74G0D9]

The planned deal and an attempt by British group BP and Russian state-controlled Rosneft to buy out the billionaires who own half of TNK-BP, would have represented a major strategic shift for all the companies involved, if successful.

What now for the parties involved?

BP: Shrink to grow?

BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley trumpeted the Rosneft deal, which was intended to give BP an interest in leases which may contain over 40 billion barrels of oil, as a sign that BP could offer growth after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

With fields representing 500,000 barrels per day of oil and gas production sold to pay for the spill cleanup, analysts termed Dudley’s strategy of divesting mature assets and seeking out new projects as “shrink to grow”.

While the shrinkage in BP’s output and valuation is stark, its opportunities for expansion are fuzzy.

MOSCOW/LONDON (Reuters) – BP’s (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) move to gain a foothold in Russia’s offshore Arctic oilfields through a deal with state-controlled Rosneft (ROSN.MM: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) has collapsed after it failed to resolve a dispute with partners in TNK-BP (TNBP.MM: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

BP chief executive Bob Dudley had trumpeted the Rosneft deal, agreed in January, as showing BP could still offer growth after the disastrous Gulf of Mexico oil spill last year.

Dudley said on Tuesday BP had not been able to reach a deal with partners in its Russian venture TNK-BP about the proposed Rosneft transaction.

BP’s partners in TNK-BP — four Russian oligarchs represented by the Alfa-Access-Renova consortium — objected to the Rosneft deal and took court action to block it, raising investor questions about Dudley’s judgment, particularly given his previous experience in Russia.

A last-ditch effort to push the deal through involved BP and Rosneft making a cash and stock offer to buy out AAR.

But there was no agreement and, after months of wrangling, Rosneft decided to pull out of the proposed alliance with BP and search for new partners to explore the three Arctic Kara Sea blocks earmarked for the offshore venture with BP, a source close to the company said.

Rosneft is talking to Exxon (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Chevron (CVX.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Chinese companies to explore the offshore territory, the source said.

LONDON/MOSCOW, May 16 (Reuters) – BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is unlikely to meet a deadline for a share swap with Russia’s Rosneft (ROSN.MM: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), after failing to remove a key stumbling block by buying out its oligarch partners in TNK-BP, a source close to BP said. BP has until 2300 GMT to complete a $16 billion share swap with Rosneft as part of a deal that would give the British group an interest in offshore Arctic exploration venture leases that could contain over 40 billion barrels of oil.

With BP’s production falling after it sold fields to pay for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the deal was intended as a signal it can still offer long-term growth.

However, the deal has been blocked in the courts by BP’s tycoon co-owners of its Russian venture TNK-BP (TNBP.MM: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), prompting BP to try and buy them out.

Alfa-Access-Renova (AAR), the consortium which represents the tycoons, rejected BP’s first advance of $27-$28 billion for their half share. BP upped it offer to around $30 billion in cash and stock but a deal is still some way off, two sources close to the deal said.

Sources close to BP said there was no longer a dispute over price but that other aspects of the potential buyout were delaying the sale. “That’s all agreed,” one source said.

A source familiar with the billionaires’ thinking agreed price was not a major impasse but rather that BP and Rosneft had not been able to meet AAR’s demand for big equity stakes in each company.

The sources said that talks could continue beyond the deadline, although the expiry of the original deal raises the possibility that Rosneft could seek to redraft the terms. Since the agreement was penned, Rosneft’s shares have risen and BP’s fallen.