BP's Moscow office raided

31st Aug 2011 11:13

Bailiffs have raided BP's Moscow offices in the second blow for the oil company in Russia in two days. The raid comes the day after US oil giant ExxonMobil signed an agreement with Russia's Rosneft to develop oil prospects in the Arctic region. Rosneft had previously been in talks with BP about creating a partnership to begin work in the region.Officials at BP said the raid was related to a lawsuit arising from the collapsed deal between BP and Rosneft filed by shareholders in BP's Russian joint venture TNK-BP.The tie-up between BP and Rosneft was successfully challenged by Russian shareholders in TNK-BP, who said that it breached a previous agreement between BP and the shareholders.---RG