????Since partnering with TNK in 2003, BP's relationship with TNK has deteriorated. At first, there was a "low-level guerilla war carried on inside [TNK-BP]," Norex says in its complaint, citing former BP CEO Lord Browne's own autobiography. But by 2008, the relationship had unraveled. Bob Dudley was forced out of Russia, where he was serving as CEO of TNK-BP. (Dudley is now the CEO of BP). Tony Hayward, BP's then-CEO, told the Telegraph that Dudley felt he had to "think about his safety." That year, Russian police raided BP's lawyers' offices. U.S. officials believed that the harassment would continue unless TNK got more control over the partnership, according to a 2008 U.S. State Department cable leaked to Wikileaks.
????This year, a deal between BP and Russia's state-owned oil company Rosneft was blocked by TNK (Exxon (XOM) ultimately won the deal). A group of TNK-BP minority shareholders, with ties to TNK, sued BP for mishandling the Rosneft deal. Fitch Ratings says that if the lawsuit gains traction in the Russian courts, it could trigger a review of BP's credit rating. Again, Russian agents raided BP's Moscow offices, this time prompting David Cameron to raise concerns about the Russian legal system with the country's President Dmitry Medvedev.
????Most energy companies operate in places where unsavory things happen, points out Brian Youngberg, an analyst with Edward Jones. And Jason Gammel, an analyst at Macquarie, notes that only Exxon has historically been able to do business in Russia without making concessions to a strong Russian partner. But if nothing else, the deal with TNK, "points to the fact that BP did not really understand how to manage risks [of doing business in Russia]," says GMI's Gladman.
????It seems that TNK, being on its home turf, has the power within Russia to gain ever more control over TNK-BP. That puts BP in a precarious situation. As BP itself noted in a 1999 report, "BP Amoco is playing the game on a Russian pitch, by Russian rules, officiated by corrupt politicians in TNK's pockets." The partnership, though troubled, accounts for 20% of BP's reserves and 10% of the company's profits; and BP would be loathe to lose TNK-BP's contribution to the bottom line. But it seems that BP must remain at TNK's mercy to keep the money coming in.
