BP Hayward visits Russia to address Kremlin worries

MOSCOW, June 28 (Reuters) - BP's (BP.L) chief executive Tony Hayward will meet top Russia officials on Monday in a visit likely to address Kremlin's worries over the company's local operations following its oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has questioned the future of BP, which faces billions of dollars of payments for cleaning up the spill [ID:nLDE64Q1K3]. The Russian ambassador to Britain has said the country wants guarantees from BP that its Russian venture would not be affected [ID:nLDE65L0UO].

Hayward will on Monday meet Russia's top energy official Igor Sechin, Sechin's spokesman said. BP's Russian venture TNK-BP TNBPI.RTS is responsible for a quarter of BP's (BP.L) global oil output.

"They will discuss bilateral projects," Sechin's spokesman told Reuters.

BP declined to confirm the meeting was taking place.

"Russian assets are an important part of BP's portfolio and Tony Hayward is regularly coming to Moscow with working visits," BP's spokesman Vladimir Buyanov said.

The oil spill, which began on April 20, has caused an economic and environmental disaster along the U.S. Gulf Coast, threatening fisheries, tourism and wildlife. [ID:nTOPNOW4]

BP's stock has been severely hit and the costs to the oil firm include, but are not limited to, a $20 billion compensation fund it set up under U.S. pressure. BP said it has paid out $2.35 billion so far in clean-up and compensation costs.

Thick oil from the Gulf of Mexico spill washed ashore in Mississippi for the first time on Sunday [ID:nN28232267]

BP has had a bumpy experience in Russia since establishing the TNK-BP venture in 2003. The venture has suffered from a conflict between BP and its billionaire Russia-connected partners, who BP accused of using administrative pressure and judicial connections to win a row over strategy and management control in 2008. (Reporting by Katya Golubkova, writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Louise Heavens)