The company has spent the past year fighting off claims from the tax, environmental and immigration authorities in what has been seen by some industry specialists as a rerun of the kind of problems that afflicted Shell until it sold part of its shareholding in Sakhalin to state-owned Gazprom.
Posts Tagged ‘Kremlin’
Oil: BP loses grip on troubled Russian venture as head of finance quits
Hayward must urgently address the Russian farce, even if it means selling
Has the time come for BP to cut its losses, quit Russia altogether...
BP Losing 23% of Production Looms as Russians Assail Investment
Nothing will happen to TNK-BP without the say-so of the Kremlin,'' says Chris Weafer, chief strategist at UralSib Financial Corp., a Moscow-based brokerage. ``The endgame is clear with Putin's government having set up the model of state control.''
Russian roulette as oiligarchs battle over TNK
After the destruction of Yukos and marginalisation of Royal Dutch Shell at the Sakhalin gas field, TNK is next on the list.
In Dispute With BP, Kremlins Hand Is Seen
The Kremlin has been methodically reasserting control over the oil industry since effectively renationalizing the Yukos oil company from private owners just as oil prices began to spike in 2004. Subsequently, the Anglo-Dutch company Shell, the Russian company Russneft and TNK-BP have all been compelled to sell assets or renegotiate deals.
BP Thwarts Ouster of Oil Ventures Chief
Beyond proving an adage in Russian investing do not turn your back on your Russian partner the vote highlighted the continuing struggle of BP to maintain control over a pumping asset that is exceptionally important for its global business.
Brown fails to ease tensions with Kremlin
Gordon Brown's hopes of a thaw in Britain's relationship with the Kremlin received a setback yesterday after "sharp-edged" talks with the new Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev.
BP’s rivals shift in Russian tussle
A similar barrage of official harassment was unleashed in 2006 against Royal Dutch Shell to force it to sell a controlling stake in its giant Sakhalin gas venture to Russia's state-dominated energy champion Gazprom.
Kazakh superfield delayed yet again
Of the 15 former Soviet republics, Kazakhstan is sitting on the sole "superfield" discovered in the last three decades. With proven reserves of 35 billion barrels, Kazakhstan potentially contains the world's third largest reserves of oil, after Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
Mitvol wins Order of the Broom Cupboard
Having bullied Shell into handing over control of its Sakhalin-2 gas field, we thought his reward would be the Order of Lenin, not a broom cupboard.
BP ups stakes by accusing Putin of failing to stop hijack by oligarchs
The treatment of BP is seen as a bellwether of Kremlin attitudes to foreign investors, following the effective seizure of assets from Shell at Sakhalin after a long period of destabilisation.
BP vents its frustration on Russian partners
BP chairman Peter Sutherland warned that unless President Dmitry Medvedev backed up his promises to restore "the rule of law", Western companies would likely turn their back on the country...
Boardroom Brawl Roils BP’s Russia Venture
In 2006, environmental regulators threatened to shut down a vast oil and gas project off the Far East island of Sakhalin operated by Royal Dutch Shell PLC. Shell was forced to sell half its stake to state-owned Gazprom.
MEMO FROM ST. PETERSBURG
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia The lineup told it all about Russias importance today. There, on one stage, sat the leaders of BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, Total, Schlumberger and Dow Chemical, as well as the chairman of the Russian energy giant Gazprom and the president of the Russian oil company Lukoil.
Kremlin leaves BP shaken, but it won’t stir
There have also been allegations about visa breaches and infringements of corporate law that remind observers of the campaign waged two years ago against Shell, which reluctantly surrendered control of a huge oil project on the Russian island of Sakhalin.
Why Shell CEO lied to investors about Russia seizing Sakhalin-2 project
Van der Veer claimed with a straight face during the AGM Q & A session that the relative pittance Shell received was a fair price when that was manifestly a false statement.