No office for brokerage suing Russia's TNK-BP

By Yekaterina Golubkova

MOSCOW, May 15 (Reuters) - The unknown brokerage disrupting BP's (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research) giant Russian oil venture TNK-BP with a lawsuit does not answer the telephone numbers posted on its website and has no offices at the address given in its court filing.

Moscow brokerage Tetlis won an injunction this month stopping TNK-BP from using 148 key specialist staff -- the latest in a series of legal blows to the highly lucrative oil company, which is at the centre of an ownership battle.

Tetlis claimed in a Siberian court that TNK-BP's use of BP specialist contractors was illegal because it amounted to a special dividend to BP at the expense of other shareholders, a claim the company strongly denies.

It demanded that TNK-BP cease using all the contractors, who provide key expertise on well selection, field development and corporate governance, and that BP Exploration Services Ltd repay all the money received so far from TNK-BP for their services.

BP and a group of Russian billionaires share ownership of unlisted TNK-BP, which in turn owns 95 percent of listed TNK-BP Holding with a 5 percent free float.

Industry sources say TNK-BP, which had estimated sales of $40 billion last year, is under heavy pressure to cede a big stake to a state-owned energy company and there is disagreement over which of the current shareholders will have to sell.

The injunction was the latest in a series of blows to the firm, Russia's No.3 oil producer. Already this year it has been raided by security services, had an employee arrested for alleged espionage and had the same BP secondees' visas declared invalid in March.

TNK-BP's Russian shareholders include investment vehicles Renova of billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, Lev Blavatnik's Access and Mikhail Fridman and German Khan'sAlfa Group.