I’m sorry, but I find all the drama surrounding the crisis, which is engulfing the British-Russian joint oil venture BP-TNK, to be smacking of serious hypocrisy; both on the part of Russia and the West.Let me explain. For more than six months now BP-TNK – a joint venture between British Petroleum and the Russian oil giant, Tyumen Oil Company – has been going through a crisis caused by the decision of the Russian owners of the group to attempt to [...]

The conflict between BP and the Russian shareholdres in the joint British-Russian oil venture BP-TNK is intensifying with the UK oil giant having been forced to withdraw all the remaining foreign engineers, who were assigned to work for the group in Russia. 86 foreign engineers have already left the country when their work visas expired and the Russian authorities refused to extend them. In effect it means that BP continues to lose its grip on the joint venture, which is [...]

More disturbing news comes from Moscow regarding the continuing conflict between the Russian and the British shareholders in the giant joint oil venture, BP-TNK. Now it seems that the Russian authorities have openly come out on the side of the four Russian oligarchs who are trying to seize control of the group which they currently own with BP on a 50:50 basis.   Yesterday the Moscow government has refused to extend work permits for nearly 70 foreign executives and senior managers [...]

Well, well, well. It seems that the BP-TNK saga is entering a new stage when the pressure that is being exerted on this joint venture between British Petroleum and a group of Russian oligarchs is becoming more intense and even personal.    The latest crisis erupted in BP-TNK when the three Russian oligarchs who control a 50 per cent stake in the group demanded the resignation of Robert Dudley, chief executive of BP-TNK, accusing him of favouring the interests of [...]

Didn’t I tell that you that the Russian government has plans regarding BP-TNK, the joint venture between British Petroleum and Russian Tyumen Oil Company, Tumenskaya Neftenaya Kompaniya? I did and I also wrote that Gazprom, the giant Russian state owned energy company, is definitely set on buying the 50 per cent stake in the joint venture that belongs to four Russian oligarchs.    Well, the pressure on BP has intensified this week when agents of the Russian Security Service, Federalnaya [...]

I have recently promised British Petroleum in my article posted on this website (See item ‘It’s An Old Russian Custom: Keep Your Business Partner Guessing’, March 27 in section ‘Russian Graffiti’) that I would ask my sources in Moscow to investigate rumours that the state owned gas giant, Gazprom, is planning to buy a 50 per cent stake in the joint venture BP-TNK. Well, I can report today that, unfortunately for BP, these rumours have proven to be correct. Yes, [...]

It’s been a nerve wrecking time for British Petroleum or, rather for its Moscow based joint venture in Russia which goes under the name of BP-TNK, TNK standing for Tyumen Oil Company. It’s a big joint venture, by the way. It has been created in 2003 with a lot of pomp and ceremony and President Vladimir Putin and then Prime Minister Tony Blair were the two main guarantors of its wonderful future. The group has about 8 billion barrels of [...]