The Guardian: BP may have to give up control of Russia venture
Reuters, Friday April 4 2008
By Tom Bergin
LONDON, April 4 (Reuters) – Kremlin pressure on BP’s Russian joint venture, TNK-BP, may force the British oil major to cede control of Russia’s third-largest oil producer to state-backed Rosneft or Gazprom before long.
In March, authorities raided the Moscow offices of BP and TNK-BP, which BP owns jointly with a group of Russian billionaires.
Officials accused a TNK-BP employee of industrial espionage and opened an investigation into tax evasion and possible environmental violations at TNK-BP.