{"id":380540,"date":"2011-04-14T10:30:26","date_gmt":"2011-04-14T10:30:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/04\/14\/bp-meeting-sparks-angry-protests\/"},"modified":"2011-04-14T10:30:26","modified_gmt":"2011-04-14T10:30:26","slug":"bp-meeting-sparks-angry-protests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/04\/14\/bp-meeting-sparks-angry-protests\/","title":{"rendered":"BP meeting sparks angry protests"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n \t\t
\n 14 April 2011<\/span>
\nLast updated at <\/span>06:30 ET<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

BP faced angry protesters at its first annual general meeting since the disastrous Gulf of Mexico oil spill. <\/p>\n

It is almost one year since 11 workers were killed when a drilling rig leased by BP exploded, unleashing millions of barrels of oil.<\/p>\n

Fishermen from the US, trade unionists, and other protesters waved banners and banged drums outside the meeting.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, BP and Russian’s Rosen have extended the deadline for their planned \u00a310bn share swap by a month.<\/p>\n

The planned deal with Rosen, which is owned by the Russian state, has been on hold after TN, Bps Russian partners in its existing Russian joint venture, TNK-BP, won an injunction.<\/p>\n

The Rosneft plan would give BP access to potential vast new energy reserves in the Russian Arctic Circle, and is a key part of BP’s turnaround strategy.<\/p>\n

BP and Rosneft have now extended the deadline for the share swap to 16 May. <\/p>\n

Noisy, angry<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tContinue reading the main story<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n

At the scene<\/h2>\n

\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\tRob Young<\/span>
\n\tWorld Service business reporter, at the BP AGM<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\t<\/p>\n

It’s very noisy outside BP’s annual shareholder meeting. There are dozens and dozens of protesters here, vying with each other to shout the loudest. <\/p>\n

Some of the bright, colourful banners read “global climate crime” and “BP: your party is over”. <\/p>\n

People from the US Gulf Coast who’ve travelled to attend the meeting claim they’re not being allowed in despite having bought shares in the firm. <\/p>\n

It’s causing quite a scene, with demonstrators, a brass band and police all having their say.<\/p>\n

\t\n\t<\/div>\n

But shareholders will be looking for more information about the Rosneft tie-up and BP’s increasingly bitter feud with its Russian partners in TNK-BP, who are collectively known as AAR.<\/p>\n

Richard Jeffrey, chief investment officer at Cazenove Capital Management, told the BBC that “there will be a lot of questions for the board” about problems in Russia. “It raises issues about what’s going on inside BP,” he said.<\/p>\n

Specifically, he said, investors would want to see if there is an alternative strategy.<\/p>\n

The handling of BP’s Russian problems, however, are one of several issues likely to stir up anger at the AGM in London.<\/p>\n

On top of shareholder ire over boardroom bonuses, some US fishermen and women, whose livelihoods were affected by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010, will be at the meeting as shareholders.<\/p>\n

Diane Wilson, who’s a Gulf shrimper and long-time campaigner said the fishing industry still had concerns, 12 months on.<\/p>\n

“Back in my community, along the Texas-Gulf coast, the brown shrimp is half of the income that you would make all year long,” she told BBC News.<\/p>\n

“I think a lot of the shrimpers are concerned. One concern, is that the shrimp are contaminated,” she said. “A lot of the fishing communities, especially in Louisiana, are not touching the shrimp.”<\/p>\n

She said that there is “great political urgency” in America to show that the problems are over. But more than 20 years after the massive Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska, there are still problems. <\/p>\n

“What happened with BP was much bigger. What happened was unprecedented,” she said.<\/p>\n

Pressure growing<\/span><\/p>\n

\n\tContinue reading the main story<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n

\u201cStart Quote<\/span><\/h2>\n
\n

BP wants to deepen its business relationship with Rosneft by increasing its stake in Russia’s biggest energy company from 1% to 10%, while Rosneft would take a 5% holding in BP\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

End Quote<\/span><\/p>\n

\t<\/p>\n

\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n

They will be joined by indigenous communities angry at BP’s involvement in extracting tar sands – a heavily polluting form of oil – in Canada. <\/p>\n

There will also be protests by other environmentalists, with more planned over the next week across London.<\/p>\n

On top of that, workers involved in a dispute at a biofuels plant near Hull, that BP is involved in, will also demonstrate, some dressed as an oil slick, linking their row with the firm’s behaviour in the Gulf.<\/p>\n

They say they have been “locked out” of the contract to build the new plant at Saltend, near Hull, after the project fell behind schedule.<\/p>\n

Pressure from institutional shareholders is also growing on BP.<\/p>\n

Calpers, a large US-based pension fund, and the Florida State Board of Administration, are reportedly joining smaller US and European religious and ethical funds in voting against the reappointment of Sir William Castell, the senior non-executive director.<\/p>\n

Sir William oversees BP’s safety, ethics and environment assurance committee. <\/p>\n

Bill Seddon, chairman of the Church Investment group and chief executive of the Central Finance Board of the Methodist Church, said his organisation would vote against Sir William’s re-appointment.<\/p>\n

Mr Seddon told the BBC: “Church investors around the world are looking to give a signal to BP… This [Gulf spill] happened on his watch and somebody has to take responsibility for it.”<\/p>\n

Pirc, the UK investor advice service, and the Association of British Insurers have expressed concern about high pay packages for two BP executives, Iain Conn and Byron Grote.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n

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