The fate of the second biggest foreign investment in Russia hangs in the balance amid signs of a shifting mood in the Kremlin which may have wrong-footed investors and one of the world's biggest oil companies...
The fate of the second biggest foreign investment in Russia hangs in the balance amid signs of a shifting mood in the Kremlin which may have wrong-footed investors and one of the world's biggest oil companies.
Raided by security services, its board paralysed, key technical experts barred from working and deluged with court cases and labour inspections, TNK-BP is a struggling $38 billion (19 billion pound) oil company producing as much crude as Britain.
As investors scrutinise the saga to read the runes for future projects in Russia, signs are multiplying that the root of the dispute may not be in the Kremlin but rather the boardrooms of Russian billionaires. Even that is uncertain.
TNK-BP, a highly lucrative 50-50 joint venture between BP and four Russian-connected billionaires, began in 2003 amid much fanfare in a deal blessed by then-president Vladimir Putin. It produces a quarter of BP's global oil output and posted a net profit of $5.7 billion last year.
TNK-BP's first five years were a succes
s story. Former BP managers working at the venture talk with pride of how they improved management of oilfields using the latest technology, cut back leaks, and boosted operating efficiency.
