Talks between BP and president Vladimir Putin indicate the oil company may gain access to Russia’s Arctic fields as part of a deal to sell half of its TNK-BP venture to OAO Rosneft.

BP chief executive Bob Dudley yesterday spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Rosneft chief executive Igor Sechin about building cooperation with Russian partners, a Kremlin spokesman said. Rosneft asked banks for $15 billion (€11.5 billion) to finance the purchase of BP’s half of TNK-BP, Russia’s third-largest oil company, according to a source. “It looks like the deal will be $15 billion in cash, plus maybe $10 billion in shares and access to the Arctic,” said Stuart Joyner, an analyst at Investec Securities in London. “That package would be good for BP.” – (Bloomberg)