BP has so far navigated the “treacherous waters of Russian politics” better than rivals Shell and Exxon, said Cyrus Sanati on Breakingviews. But “that could be changing”.
This month the secret service raided the headquarters of its TNK-BP joint venture and on Tuesday the group recalled 148 foreign employees on secondment to TNK-BP because of visa problems. Moreover, the Russian Interior Ministry said it was investigating tax-evasion charges against the unit. What is the motivation?
The idea that the past few weeks’ events are coincidental “stretches credulity”, said Patrick Hosking in The Times. They echo the recent menacing of British Council employees in Russia. One “sinister theory” is that Gazprom, still chaired by the country’s new president Dmitry Medvedev, wants a slice of TNK-BP – currently owned 50-50 by BP and three Russian billionaires – after usurping BP’s 62.9% stake in east Siberia’s Kovytka gas field.
This may be all about the worsening relations between London and Moscow after the death of Alexander Litvinenko, said Russell Hotten in The Daily Telegraph. Hard to say, said Sanati. The election of a new president may be creating internal tensions, BP could be a temporary victim, or the real target could be the three oligarchs who own TNK. In any case, the group could do without this renewed harassment just as its North Sea fields are drying up.
BP
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