BP says to continue Rosneft talks after deal lapses

British energy giant BP said on Tuesday that it will continue talks with Rosneft after the lapse of its Arctic exploration and share-swap deal with the Russian state oil giant. BP issued a statement with the Russian shareholders in its joint venture in Russia, TNK-BP. Those shareholders -- known as Alfa Access Renova (AAR) -- had obtained a court injunction against the Rosneft deal, claiming it violated their TNK-BP agreement. "In recent months, BP has conducted detailed negotiations with AAR and Rosneft to seek a reasonable and businesslike solution that would allow the agreements to proceed to the satisfaction of all parties. Such a solution has not been found at this time, although talks will continue," the statement said. Rosneft has pulled out of its strategic alliance with BP and will look for new partners in Arctic oil exploration, Interfax quoted a source close to the state-held company as saying Tuesday. "This entire time, Rosneft has been keeping to a constructive position," the source told the Russian news agency. "This is confirmed by the fact that it agreed to extend the deadline, and also expressed readiness to buy out AAR's share jointly with BP for a premium price," the source said. AAR represents the four Russian shareholders who control half of BP's local venture TNK-BP. The Russian state-held company was now looking for new partners for its Arctic projects, the unnamed source added. Rosneft had earlier agreed to extend the deadline by which the $16 billion share swap and joint exploration deal could be reached until Monday. News reports said BP and Rosneft had been willing to pay more than $30 billion (21.1 billion euros) for the Russian partners' stake. The partners had earlier successfully challenged the tie-up in court and refused to sell their stake for prices proposed by the two companies.