MOSCOW -- British-Russian oil firm TNK-BP said on Friday it had settled back-tax claims for 2002-2003 which a source close to the company said amounted to $1.44 billion.

The sum represents the second largest ever back tax bill paid by a Russian firm after a $27.5 billion claim against fallen oil major Yukos, which the firm said was politically motivated and led to its bankruptcy.

TNK-BP made the massive payment amid increased pressure from state officials and gas monopoly Gazprom on its gas projects including the landmark Kovykta gas field.

It also comes amid market expectations that TNK-BP's Russian billionaire shareholders will soon sell their 50 percent stake in the venture to a state firm such as Gazprom. TNK-BP has paid billions of dollars in dividends for 2004-2006.

Aton brokerage said the news was negative as unlike in the YUKOS case the market expected TNK-BP to pay much less. "Investors were taking their guidance from similar cases involving Sibneft, Lukoil and other Russian companies, where the damage was ultimately limited to relatively small amounts following negotiations with the authorities," Aton said in a note.

Many Russian oil firms have said they used tax evasion schemes in 2000-2003, which they said were legal at that time. Analysts have noted the state treatment of tax evasion differed from firm to firm, depending on its loyalty to the Kremlin. "We see TNK-BP's unstable relations with the authorities as the weakest point in the company's investment case," said Aton.

Russian media has speculated that the claim is most likely to be directed mainly against the Russian shareholders of TNK-BP's, Russia's No. 3 oil producer, who include billionaires Mikhail Fridman, Viktor Vekselberg and Len Blavatnik.

"The payment was made from TNK-BP's tax reserve and the partners are yet to decide how to split the bill based on the existing agreements," said BP's spokesman in Russia Vladimir Buyanov.

BP became a 50-percent partner in TNK-BP in September 2003, which in theory means it will take responsibility for only three months of back tax claims. Prior to September, BP had a minority stake in Sidanco, TNK-BP's mid-sized production unit.

TNK-BP has come under increasing pressure from the Russian authorities which analysts say is part of a campaign by the Kremlin to increase control over the country's energy sector.

Russian prosecutors on Thursday opened a criminal investigation into licence violations at TNK-BP's gas unit, Rospan, which is developing two gas fields in Russia's north.

Prosecutors have also questioned another TNK-BP's project, the huge Kovyktas gas field in east Siberia, and have said that the licence to operate could be withdrawn because of non-fulfillment of licensing terms.

Projects led by Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil are also under scrutiny from state environmental and technical standards agencies, which hold sway over licenses and permits that are crucial to multibillion dollar projects.

In the TNK-BP case, many analysts also believe the pressure may be designed to force the Russian billionaire shareholders to sell out cheap, so a Russian state firm becomes a partner of BP in the giant venture.

Source: Reuters