BP's Russian visa problem

Foreign managers of the Russian-British oil company TNK-BP, a merger between British Petrol and the Russian company TNK, are no longer being issued with visas. A commentary in the Financial Times voices condemnation: "On the face of it, the partners have split over TNK-BP's management, with the Russian owners accusing BP of failures, including delays in cutting costly expatriate staff. But, in reality, this looks like a row over control between BP, with 50 per cent, and the four oligarchs who own the other half. ... State officials clearly have intervened over the crucial work permit/visa issue. Moscow bureaucrats would not have acted without support from their superiors. BP does not seem to be the target of a unified Kremlin plot. But it may be the victim of power struggles within the administration, which BP's partners can exploit. Whatever the truth, Mr Medvedev must rise above the fray and deliver on his promise to impose the rule of law. If he does not, Russia's reputation with foreign investors will suffer."

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