BP to rebuy 8bn of shares
Billions of pounds worth of shares are being bought back by BP.
Billions of pounds worth of shares are being bought back by BP.
Oil company BP has announced it is going to buy back $8 billion (£5.2 billion) of shares.
The firm revealed it will return its shareholders the money they put into a complicated Russian venture.
BP chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg announced the share buyback programme could take between a year and 18 months to complete.
It comes after BP agreed to sell back its 50 per cent stake in TNK-BP to Russia's Rosneft a few months ago, in return for $17.1 billion in cash and shares.
"This buyback programme should also allow our shareholders to see benefits in the near-term from the value we have realised by reshaping our Russian business," said Mr Svanberg.
Investors responded positively to the news of the buyback scheme from the oil giant and in the early stages of the day's trading, BP's share price was up.
At 08:30 GMT it was recorded at 457.70, which is a rise of 1.85 per cent, or 8.3 points, on the start of the day.
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